Everything In This World
by Viv1
Summary: "Chloe ... There's more to this world than Clark Kent." Chloe/Lex, Clark/Lana. This story is now COMPLETE.
1. Part One

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Everything In This World

By Viv

**__**

Email:: viv_ngan@yahoo.com.au  
  
**_Summary_**: "Chloe ... There's more to this world than Clark Kent."  
  
**_Category_**: Chloe/Lex, Clark/Lana, Clark/Chloe, Lana/Whitney  
  
**_Spoilers_** : Smallville Season 1; a general knowledge of the Superman saga may also help.  
  
**_Disclaimer_** : All characters on 'Smallville' that appear in this story are owned soley and exclusively by the WB, etc. I am not intending to profit from anything, 'k?  
  
**_Author's Notes_**: This story started as an attempt at a Clark/Lana Clark/Chloe, but ended up as a Chloe/Lex with a heavy dollop of Clark/Lana. I'm eventually going to do a separate story for Clark/Lana which will act as a companion/crossover piece with this story - the key word being _eventually_. *s*  
  
If there are any small inconsistencies with season 1, it's because I haven't actually seen the whole season yet (Australia has  
only just started showing Smallville). In that case, I'd really appreciate it if you could point it out to me so that I can go back and correct anything. And of course, feedback is always craved and welcomed! ;-D  
  


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*~*~ Part One ~*~*

Chloe squinted into the distance.   
  
Her pale hands tried to shelter her eyes from the glare of the sun's rays, but it wasn't much use against the harsh Kansas sunshine in the midst of summer. A city girl by nature, she just couldn't seem to think of the celebrated summer sunshine as anything but frightening. Frightening because of her skin's non-ability to tan. In fact, no matter how many times she had tried to tan her pale skin, she had invariably ended up looking like an extremely unhealthy variety of lobster. The boiled alive kind.   
  
Her hands idly flipped the pages of the book she had placed on the grass before her, but she wasn't really paying attention, because all of the said attention was currently fixed on two figures in the distance, their forms almost haloed by the afternoon sunshine behind them.   
  
Her tall, Smallville-bred, produce delivering, gorgeous-as-hell best friend. And the figure by his side, the just as freakishly gorgeous ex-cheerleader turned coffee house proprietor. Known to people outside her head as Clark Kent and Lana Lang.  
  
She wondered how they would look in pictures together. They were probably the best looking couple of people in Smallville, she thought wryly. Probably the best looking two people in the town ever full stop. Both brunette, both freakishly good looking, both so unendurably nice - Chloe's mind couldn't discount the not-so-distant possibility that the meteor rocks (the root of all Smallville evil, and then some) were somehow responsible for Clark and Lana's freakishly good looks and freakishly friendly personalities. _Freakish_, she stated emphatically in her mind. Was she using that word too much? Because hey, if the shoe fits ...   
  
She shook her head, trying to dislodge her thoughts. Way to spend an afternoon Chloe, she chided herself. Obsessing yet again about her best friend, and the wickedly maudlin love triangle that no one had had the guts to talk about yet, because really - and she couldn't emphasise this enough - could they get any lamer? Chloe Sullivan, one time cynic who had spurned the ridiculous normality of teenage-hood, now found herself standing knee deep in the worst kind of teenage trauma that had ever been devised.   
  
She sighed, biting her lip. Things weren't really all that complicated. The whole ridiculous situation could be described with a few simple facts.   
  
Firstly, Chloe liked Clark. Check. So far so okay, at least from her point of view.   
  
Secondly, Clark liked Lana. Check, even though Chloe definitely didn't want to think about that.   
  
Thirdly, Lana kind of/maybe/perhaps/possibly liked Clark. Half a check, because with someone liked Lana, you could never really tell. There was also the Whitney factor, which Chloe didn't know what to do with, so she put it aside for the time being.   
  
But the real cruncher - the thing that had turned the maudlin status quo on its head - if indeed it had a head, which to Chloe seemed kinda funny, but which wasn't really the point at the moment - was that Clark kind of/maybe/perhaps/possibly also liked Chloe.   
  
Hmmm. "And therein lay the rub." She murmured under her breath.  
  
It was a circle. A circle of death by unrequited love and near-farcical complicated teenage angst. Only the murky genetic pool that was high school would have been able to spawn such deviant friendships, such intricately interlacing lives. And again, such teenage angst.   
  
Chloe giggled in spite of herself. She could be such a drama queen at times. Maybe that was what made her a good writer.   
  
"What's so fascinating?" Chloe was jolted back to reality by the hearty slap across her back, as Pete flopped down onto the grass beside her. He squinted at the two figures that had caught her rapt attention, and understanding dawned on his face.   
  
"Again?" He said, in mixture of exasperation and understanding.   
  
"Lay off, jock strap." She retorted bitingly. "Contemplating the futile nature of my own existence is a staple of teenage angst. I'm a teenager, and therefore -" she shut the book in her hands with a mighty thump, "I angst."   
  
"I just think -"   
  
"I know what you think." She bit her lip to keep the hurt expression from flowing on to her face. This was the last thing that she needed to talk about while being half-boiled alive in the hot afternoon sun. She ducked her head to shade herself against Pete, momentarily losing sight of Clark and Lana in the distance.   
  
"Actually, you don't." Surprise suffused Chloe's face as she beheld Pete's determined expression. "You really don't Chloe."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, her voice harsher than intended. 

Pete ignored her hostility. "It means you're an intelligent, pretty girl, and you've wasted enough time on Mr 'I can't make up my mind because I'm an idiot'." He sighed. "I love Clark and everything, but this time ... I don't like to see you like this. You deserve better."   
  
"Mr 'I can't make up my mind because I'm an idiot' just happens to be one of my best friends."   
  
"Is he?" Pete asked her significantly.   
  
She ignored that last question, disliking the twinge of familiarity the concept tugged in her. It was true that the whole tangled emotions thing had driven a serious wedge in their previously wedgeless friendship. But she didn't want to think about that right now. "I thought you liked watching this soap opera that is the days of my life?" She asked half-seriously.   
  
"Chloe." Pete said, refusing to be side-tracked. "There's more to this world than Clark Kent."   
  
And for once, Chloe Sullivan, trainee reporter extraordinaire, could find nothing to say. 

(c) July 2002


	2. Part Two

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Two ~*~*

"Chloe." Keeping her attention firmly planted on the latest edition of The Torch in front of her, it took her a moment to register the achingly familiar voice that called out to her from across the school grounds.   
  
She looked up, and was confronted by the smiling blue eyes of Clark Kent.   


"Hey Chloe." With one smooth, graceful movement, he sat down on the ground opposite her. "I've been looking for you all morning."   
  
"Oh yeah?" She asked nonchalantly, endeavouring to keep her voice even. Ever since summer, when she had seen Clark and Lana getting visibly closer, she had steeled herself for the unpleasant inevitability of being shunted to the side by Clark like last week's dinner. So what if she had thought that Clark might actually have liked her - as more than just a best friend - last year? He and Lana were clearly bonding, and with Whitney the king jock strap himself gone, everyone in the school was talking about what Chloe had dreaded all summer.   
  
Clark and Lana, sitting in a tree ... K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Or maybe in his case, a barn.   
  
Nearly dying from a giant tornado and abandoning his best friend at the Prom did tend to make people grow a little closer, she reasoned wryly. Why had she even hoped for anything different?   
  
She sighed, quickly dragging her mind to the mundane present - to Clark, who was sitting opposite her, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.   
  
He took an apple out of his bag and quickly bit into it, while Chloe idly wondered if he had ever tasted an apple that hadn't been grown on his family farm. Like, from a grocery store like a normal person might. That is, a normal person in a place anywhere besides Smallville.   
  
"Yeah," he continued between bites, "I wanted to ask you whether you were coming to the meet tomorrow?" He smiled impishly. "I'd really like you to be there Chloe."   
  
Chloe restrained a scream in frustration, and the almost irresistible urge to dump the entire contents of her mystery lunch on top of his perfectly floppy hair. The nerve of the guy! After all the time she had spent analysing her friendship with him, her anger and angst about what he may or may not have felt about her during the past year and the endless torture she had endured watching him fawning over Lana in front of her, he had the nerve to demand her presence at a lame swim meet?   
  
The nerve!   
  
Granted, it was the meet that was probably going to put Smallville High into the state championships, and catapult Clark Kent into the pantheons of superstar jockdom. So what? How could he just demand her to be there like that, as if she was some personal lackey he could suck support from whenever he felt like it?   
  
"Isn't Lana going to be there?" She asked acerbically, half hoping he would get a clue into that innocent farm boy brain of his and actually notice her not-so-coolness with the idea of going any place where Clark and Lana were going to stare at each other like two anatomically correct Greek marble statues.   
  
His smiled widened, causing her to wonder whether there was a limit to his incredible denseness about all things Chloe.   
  
"She is. But I'd really like you to be there as well."   
  
He sounded genuine. She felt the rising tide of irrational anger draining away, leaving an incredible tiredness that settled into every sinew of her body. She was tired of this - so tired of fighting her feelings for Clark. So tired of feeling the emotional claustrophobia she had to endure day in, day out, because she had to keep up the pretence that she had forgiven him for walking (well, running) out on her at the Prom, all in the name of their friendship. The friendship that had begun at the dawn of Chloe time, and must continue to the end of Chloe time, or else ...   
  
Or else what? What would happen if they stopped being friends? Or even stopped being best friends? They hadn't really spent all that much time together these past few months, between the awkwardness that now hung in the air almost every single time they spoke, his swimming, her Torch work and his voluntary worship of Lana. Would it be so wrong to admit that they had drifted apart, through no fault of their own?   


He was still smiling, looking hopefully up at her from under his long lashes. Did he have to turn on the Kent charm and make her determination to stomp on him like a tiny insignificant insect waver? Did his denseness know no bounds? Here she was contemplating the possible future of their friendship, or more accurately, its possible non-future, and he was sitting there grinning like an idiot, expectant smile and all.   
  
The nerve!   
  
Suddenly Chloe felt that she had had enough. Enough of the angst, enough of thoughts churning around her confused mind and - enough of Clark.   
  
She stared frostily at him, almost daring him to notice her mood. "I don't know Clark, I've got all these summer job applications to write. Maybe you could get Lana to cheer extra loud. That way you'd never notice I wasn't there." She stood up abruptly, spilling her can of Coke all over the ground. She cursed colourfully.  
  
"Chloe." He sounded hurt and injured, the way that a cute puppy dog who had just got smacked in the gut might. Her heart wanted to soften, but her mind remained in harsh, unforgiving control.   
  
She heaved her bag across her shoulders. "What?"   
  
"Why are you being like this?"   
  
Her unforgiving demeanour cracked slightly under the weight of emotion so clearly evident on Clark's face. Oh, that was a loaded question if ever she had heard one. So many possible answers, so many possible outcomes. She opened her mouth, but quickly shut it. She had too much to do right now, between The Torch and her newspaper summer job applications, and really, too little energy to deal with anything as frustrating and soul sucking as Clark Kent. 

"You figure it out." She said, sarcasm thickly coating her voice as she stormed off.   
  
Unfortunately, Chloe was neither athletic enough nor tall enough to outrun Clark the superjock. She only succeeded in walking a few steps before she felt his heavy but firm hand on her shoulder, wheeling her around almost against her will.   
  
"Chloe." He protested. "You didn't answer my question."   
  
Chloe looked around uncomfortably, not wanting to meet his imploring eyes. She saw the jocks hanging out at their usual place, tossing footballs and making lame fart jokes, still wearing their Letterman jackets as if it was the only thing they had in their wardrobe. She saw the popular clique, banding together in a dizzying cacophony of glittering nail polish and perfectly coiffed hair, trying to lure said jocks. There were the nerds, and the geeks and the other 'normal' people who were milling about, enjoying the Kansas sunshine. Why couldn't she be like that? Just be Chloe Sullivan, dreaming about a Metropolis internship at the Daily Planet and all the exciting stuff she would be able to do there.   
  
Instead she was astutely avoiding the hurt and bewildered gaze of Clark Kent. Looking into his big, wide eyes, she found herself wanting to hug him and slap him at the same time. She was frustrated and conflicted and a thousand other different adjectives that her normally facile mind couldn't come up with at the moment.   
  
"What do you want me to say Clark?" She asked, her voice softening noticeably.   
  
He sighed. "I don't know." He mumbled, in that patented Clark-way of his. "I don't understand why you're being like this."   
  
Chloe blinked, trying to dislodge the disbelief rising like bile in her mind. He didn't know? All these months that she had thought they had spent dancing around each other had in actuality just consisted of her doing the dancing, alone as always, with him being the clueless drone? She felt hurt. And betrayed. And beyond frustrated.   
  
"Exactly what has gotten you so confused Clark?" She asked him, reeling from the hurt and anger boiling up to the surface of her emotions. Enough was enough. Gorgeous and adorable as he was, he was still a person, and right now Chloe found him the most repugnant person on the face of the Earth. Maybe even the universe.   
  
How had things gotten so out bad between them?   
  
"Chloe." He called after her as she rushed across the lawn, catching up to her without visible strain. "I just ... I thought we were good."   
  
"We were good?" She asked, exasperated. "Which part of 'I'll never forgive you for this' confused you?"   
  
"But ..." Clark frowned in confusion. "We talked about it. Lana was in danger, and ... you forgave me." He finished, uncertainty tingeing his voice.   
  
"No Clark." She said, deathly quiet. "I didn't forgive you. I just forgot about it for a while."   
  
Clark stood there, stunned, and if Chloe hadn't felt this bad she would have laughed. He was so achingly transparent at times.  
  
"I'm sorry, Chloe. How many times do you want me to say it?" He asked her imploringly, but she remained resolutely silent. "Please Chloe," he begged, "please talk to me."   
  
His puppy dog gentleness grated at the edges of her psyche. Did he have to be that way all the time? Display that Kent charm like some potent, all conquering weapon and expect her to just cave in?   
  
"Talk to you about it?" She asked, already feeling the anger surging through her like some untameable electrical energy. "Talk - _to you_ - about it?" She smiled without warmth, her voice rising hysterically along with her unleashing anger. People turned around and began staring at her, but she didn't care.   
  
Enough was enough after all.   
  
"What do you want to talk about Clark?" She asked him, feeling the heat emanating from her increasingly flushed face. "Maybe we should talk about the way you DITCHED ME AT THE PROM. Or maybe the way you've been DITCHING me at the first blip on your Lana-radar. Or maybe the way you've basically ignored me for the past few months living your wonderful new life as a super jockstrap, permanently lojacked to Miss 'Prettiest girl in town - ever'. Didn't you notice anything wrong, Clark?"   
  
"Why didn't you say anything?" He cried half-indignantly. "I didn't know." That was rich. He was indignant? Was it her fault he was a complete dumb ass?   
  
"You didn't know?! Gosh darn, what a surprise. I could never have imagined that Clark Kent could be so DENSE. Maybe in that twisted convoluted turmoil in your head that you call a brain, you'd like to think about a few things - like the fact that, contrary to popular belief, you aren't the centre of the universe!"   
  
Chloe couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she had just said all those things to her friend. She could already see the hurt and pain rising in those big blue orbs. Oh shit, she thought. What have I done?   
  
Clark was just staring at her, clearly flabbergasted, his blue eyes saucer-like in shock. He opened and closed his mouth several times. Around them people continued to stare.   
  
"Chloe, I didn't know." He said forlornly, as silence permeated the heat around them. "I'm ... you should have told me."   
  
She stared at him, indecision making her waver. "I did tell you Clark." She said quietly. "In every way except in words."  
  
He sighed in turn. "I just didn't notice."   
  
The soft forgiving words that had been half forming in her brain shattered as she heard those words, and she felt her anger returning with renewed energy, now coupled with the pain of unrequited feelings for him, feelings perhaps he would never return.   
  
He hadn't noticed, she screamed to herself. Of course ... that would always be the way, wouldn't it? Because she was 'just Chloe', in the way Pete was 'just Pete' while Lana was ... _Lana_.   
  
She couldn't take it, all that hurt and anger and goddamn angst just boiling inside of her, making her be this vindictive, nasty creature that didn't in any way resemble her normal bubbly self. Going to the Prom with her, had that just been a whim on his part? Had he just turned to her because Lana had remained resolutely unattainable? Her feelings were building up, a maelstrom  
of anger and torment, and clichéd or not, she was almost bursting with it. So she did the only thing she could do.   
  
She punched him, square across the face.  
  
"Shit." She swore under her breath, clutching her already aching fist as she saw Clark reel, as much from shock as from actual force of impact. He stumbled, while audible gasps filtered through to her from the onlooking student body.   
  
"Ow." His hands flew to his jaw, stunned disbelief naked across his face. But she wasn't finished. Like the bursting of a very pent up dam, she found that once unleashed, the force of her anger knew no bounds.   
  
"You didn't notice?" She screamed at him half questioningly. "Of course you didn't notice. You were too busy focusing on anything besides me. You hurt me Clark. You hurt me in a way no one has ever done before. I want to cry because of you, and I haven't cried since god knows when, but you've made me want to cry most days and I'm just sick of it! I'm sick of feeling this way, and if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me." She took a deep breath, her voice lowering as she met his gaze determinedly. Her eyes were like blue sapphires, shining but hard. "I mean it Clark. You and I - we're not friends."   
  
With that she breathlessly spun around, running away as fast as her legs could take her.  


And this time, Clark didn't follow her.   
  


(c) July 2002


	3. Part Three

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Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Three ~*~*

A tentative knock roused Chloe from the half-stupor she had been sitting in. She glanced at the clock - it was five, which meant that no sane person should still be at school. Maybe she had imagined it.   
  
No sane person that was, besides Chloe Sullivan. Granted, she was using the Torch offices as an exclusive hide-out, but at the same time she actually was getting some work done. It helped her to forget what had transpired between her and Clark that day ... in front of the entire school.   
  
She groaned aloud. She could imagine what a field day the gossip queens must have had.   
  
The knock came again, louder this time. She half-wished and half-dreaded that it was Clark, coming alternately to apologise and beg for her forgiveness, or to cement their new non-friendship forever.   
  
"What?" She asked unceremoniously. She felt like hell, so there was no point in hiding it.   
  
The door opened quietly as Lana stepped in tentatively. "Hey." She greeted Chloe, clearly nervous. "Am I ... am I disturbing you?"   
  
Chloe wanted to say that she had disturbed her whole existence by just being alive and gorgeous, but she refrained from hurting the other girl's feelings. After all it wasn't Lana's fault that she had been born preternaturally beautiful and the fantasy object of every red-blooded male in town.   
  
"No ... just doing some layout work, that's all."   
  
Lana visibly relaxed as she stepped further into the room. "Good, because I wanted to see how you were."   
  
Chloe jerked her head around. "Why?" She wanted to say a whole bunch of other things along with that, namely, why the hell aren't you with Clark right now, comforting him in the way only you could comfort him? But she bit her lip and waited for Lana to reply.  
  
"Because I was worried about my friend." Although Chloe wanted to stab Lana with a very blunt knife for being the visible embodiment of why Clark would never really be interested in Chloe, she knew that deep down she couldn't fault the girl standing with all her dancer's grace in front of her. She couldn't fault Lana, she was just too nice. And she was nice enough to come through the dimly lit maze that was the school just so she could check up on Chloe.   
  
"I'm all right."   
  
"No you're not." Lana rejoined with more force than Chloe had ever seen her use. Her iridescent eyes glittered strangely in the waning light, and for once, Chloe got what must have caught Clark's attention about Lana, besides her looks - that this girl wasn't as straight forward as she seemed.   
  
"Okay, so I'm not all right." Chloe admitted, still staring the other girl down. "So what?"   
  
"So, maybe you want to talk about it." She sighed at the stony expression on Chloe's face. "I had no idea, Chloe. I mean, I knew that last year, you and Clark ... " She sat down, perching on the edge of the chair with a grace that threatened to propel Chloe to bitch wrestle her to the ground. "But I thought that was over. He ... told me it was over." She looked away uncomfortably at the pain evident in Chloe's eyes. "I don't know what else I can say." Lana gazed at her neatly folded hands on her lap. "I just wanted to be here for you, in case you wanted to talk."   
  
Talk to Lana? Chloe screamed silently, not missing the irony of the offer. Um surprisingly, No.  
  
She awkwardly changed the subject. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Talon? Making coffee, smiling at patrons?"   
  
"Yeah. But I figured I'd see if you were okay." Lana said softly, then added, "Lex is minding the Talon."   
  
Chloe was surprised enough by that disclosure to momentarily forget about her own issues. "What?" She gave a tiny chuckle. "You're not serious?"   
  
"I am." Lana smiled mischievously. "He volunteered actually." Her face turned serious again. "He asked what was wrong with Clark today, and I told him. He said he'd mind the Talon if I wanted to go see you."   
  
"Really?" She was genuinely surprised. She and Lex Luthor had never been close, and he was Clark's friend much more than he was hers. Much more. "Don't you mean ... if you had wanted to see ..." Chloe looked away blinking back tears, leaving the sentence unfinished. It was official; she was an official basket case. She couldn't even say his name without wanting to cry.  
  
Lana pretended not to notice. "No, he said you. He said that Clark would always be able to run to his parents, but you ... you were different. I believe the exact words he used were 'isolated cynic' and 'stubborn'."   
  
"Oh." It was nice to be thought of, she thought, even if it was in those unflattering terms.  
  
Lana stood and dragged her chair closer to Chloe's, so that there was no way for her to shy away from Lana's penetrating gaze. "I understand if you don't want to talk to me," she paused, glancing at Chloe sadly, "but I just wanted you to know that you weren't alone."  
  
Chloe blinked owlishly at the other girl, her mind embroiled in internal conflict. Part of her wanted to take Lana's nice girl act and shove it down her throat, but the other part of her genuinely appreciated her thinking about Chloe when her mind should probably have been full of Clark.   
  
"Thanks." She smiled hesitantly. "I think ... I think I just need to be alone at the moment."   
  
"Okay." Lana said softly, getting up and tucking the chair neatly under the desk. "You know where to find me if you need me."   
  
"Yeah." Chloe tossed her head back, trying to shake away her emotion. She had felt too much today.   
  
Lana turned to go, but was stopped by Chloe's voice. "Thanks." Chloe blurted out. "For ... you know."   
  
Lana smiled wordlessly, disappearing into the dark hall way beyond.  


(c) July 2002


	4. Part Four

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Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Four ~*~*

It was all Chloe could do to keep upright and walking the next day, as she endured endless stares and speculation from her fellow students. Maybe she was just being hyper-paranoid, but she swore she could almost hear the whispers follow her passage down the hall between classes. 

Stares she could handle; an icy glare from her cold hazel eyes were enough to detract the most blatant of starers as she walked past them, but whispering and conjecture were a different matter.   
  
Chloe's pride would never have allowed her to stoop to losing her cool and confronting anyone about what they may or may not have been saying about her. She didn't really want to think about it - didn't want to think about anything to do with her former best friend. She just wanted to get on with her work.   
  
That was what she had decided was the best thing to do now. She had woken up that morning much earlier than usual - she had slept surprisingly well given the whole prima donna performance she had given yesterday, and had grabbed an early morning coffee on her way to school. That way, she avoided running into Clark on the bus, and was able to think about how she was going to live her life post-Clark. That was when she had decided she was going to concentrate on her work, and leave all the baggage with Clark for another day.   
  
"Chloe." For a moment her entire body spasmed with tension until she realised that it was Pete, not Clark, who was calling out to her from across the hall. She sighed in relief, giving him a tiny smile in greeting.   
  
"Hey you."   
  
Pete sidled up to her and hooked an arm around her shoulders. "How's it going?"   
  
"Haven't you heard?" Chloe smiled despite herself. "I insulted the school swimming hero right before the most important meet in the history of Smallville."   
  
"Oh that." Pete's smile faltered, and Chloe noticed that even _his _naturally cheery nature couldn't quite get over the complete sundering of his best friends' friendship. 

They walked on in silence, until Pete burst out with, "I don't know what's going on with you guys Chloe." 

Chloe shrugged. "And you're asking me? I'm the madwoman who punched him in front of the entire student body. If the Torch wasn't the quality publication that I've made it to be, the headline would be screaming 'Freak Assaults Swimming Champion'." She laughed without real emotion, as if she could alleviate her own misery. 

"Chloe." Pete sighed, "what am I going to do with you two?" 

Chloe's blue orbs locked with Pete's intent brown ones. Solemnly, without any trace of sarcastic humour, she said, "Pray." 

Pete stared at her, apparently shocked enough by the gravity in her voice and demeanour to check himself for a moment. Suddenly he laughed. "Oh, you almost had be there Chloe. If I didn't know you so well, I could've sworn you were feeling sorry for yourself." He slapped her back heartily, as if she were one of his team mates. "You know, instead of plotting some serious kick-ass story to put in the next issue of the Torch." 

Chloe had to roll her eyes at Pete's optimism. She was flattered that he thought so much of her that he thought she would have the ability to pick herself up from excessive wallowing in self-pity she was so obviously indulging in at the moment. Despite herself, she let a small chuckle escape and was jolted by the reality that although she had made a mess of things with Clark, she clearly still had good things going for her in her life. Her _other _best friend for one thing. 

"Thanks Pete. I could always count on you to cheer me up." She gave him a small punch on the shoulder as he smiled somewhat bashfully. Trust guys to become embarrassed by their own emotions, Chloe thought wryly. 

She opened her mouth to basically tell him as much when her sharp eyes caught the unmistakable figure of Clark making his way towards their direction, his tall frame easily identifiable amongst the throng between them, his face one of brooding misery. Her heart ached in the knowledge that she had caused that misery so plainly etched on his face, but she wasn't ready to confront him yet. 

She wasn't ready to confront him yet, so she did the only thing she could. To Pete's astonishment, she did a quick turnaround and began walking away, leaving him behind. She caught a glimpse of Clark's surprised features as he spied her in front of him, but she just couldn't stay. 

"Chloe!" Clark called after her, naked pleading in his voice. 

She ignored him as she lost herself in the crowded hall of the school, hoping that there would come a day when she and Clark could salvage what was left of their tattered friendship. 

(c) July 2002


	5. Part Five

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Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Five ~*~*

"Chloe?" 

Chloe muffled a scream as she leaped up from behind the tombstone. Her heart drummed furiously in her ears against the stillness of the cool night air as she beheld a dark form in front her, slim and slight but eerily still, like a creature lying in wait for prey. She brought a hand to her thumping chest, breathing deeply as recognition dawned. "Lana?" She gasped. 

Lana emerged from the shadows, a sheepish expression adorning her face. "Did I scare you?" 

"Ah ... not really." Chloe brushed back messy tendrils of blonde hair as she straightened herself up. "At least, not in the me dying from shock kinda way." 

"Sorry." Lana said quietly as she appraised Chloe's still shocked expression. "It's pretty easy to creep up on people in a graveyard." 

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "You don't say." 

Lana laughed sheepishly, folding her hands into the pockets of the dark grey fleecy jacket she wore on top of her pink t-shirt. Her normal curtain of perfectly straight, dark brown hair was tied up in a practical ponytail, wisps escaping to curl slightly over her delicate features. She looked like an extremely messy China doll in sweats. 

She stared penetratingly at Chloe with beautiful, iridescent coloured eyes, and for the first time Chloe understood why the male population of Smallville had such an entrenched fascination with Lana Lang. 

"This may be a stupid question, but ..." Lana began, her forehead creasing in concentration, "what are you doing here?" 

Chloe was about to retort by asking the same question, before she recalled Clark telling her about Lana's regular nocturnal visits to her parents in the cemetery. "I was ..," she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity, "I was feeling lonely, and maudlin, and depressed so I thought I'd come soak it up. The depression that is." 

"And you couldn't do this during the day?" Lana smiled faintly, and if it had come from anyone else Chloe would have described it as patronising. But with Lana ... it was hard to tell. 

It suddenly struck Chloe how much Lana was a mystery to her. A mystery to even the entire town maybe. On the surface, Lana had everything - the beauty, the personality ... the intelligence. Sure, she had had to deal with growing up without her parents, but despite that Chloe knew that half the girls in the town would swap places with Lana in a heart beat. To everyone that looked at her, saw her, she was the perfect girl, because she was beautiful and intelligent and had compassion and warmth to spare. 

So much so that it had been easy for Chloe to just take her at her word. To mistake Lana's image for the real Lana hiding underneath. Lana seemed so open, so guileless in her genuine warmth towards others, that it had been easy to believe that was all there was. To take for granted the fact that Lana was pretty much an open book; that because Lana was open and friendly, she actually *_was* _open and friendly. 

But now Chloe realised that in fact, Lana wasn't quite that open. In a flash of understanding, Chloe could see that everything had been buried under the polished veneer of the fairy princess, the perfect cheerleader, the perfect Prom Queen that she had wrought for herself. And even though half the time she wasn't any of those things, the unreality of her aura clung to her, refusing to be shaken off or discarded. 

Lana was wrapped in an isolation of her own making. Cozened away from the world because she was ethereally beautiful, delicate, graceful, friendly and genuine. She was unreal. 

"Do you feel sad, Lana?" Chloe asked abruptly. 

Lana frowned. Chloe was satisfied that she at least looked a _little _put out. "What do you mean?" 

Chloe shook her head, unsure of why she was saying these things, unsure of why she wanted to know more about Lana so badly. "It's just ... you always look so happy. You know, with everything ... nothing seems to touch you." Lana looked on, her face expressionless, her very immobility and stillness annoying Chloe enough to continue. "I know you must have problems like everyone else ..." she drifted off, quickly recalling the many meteor-induced situations over the past year, "but you always seem to come out unscathed. You _never _put a foot wrong, everyone loves you or wants to be you, and through it all ... you're just there. You're Lana." 

Lana's eyes hardened, and Chloe was surprised by the vehemence that came out of her voice. "Yeah ... I'm just there." She took her hands out from her pockets and folded them roughly across her chest, turning away from Chloe as she spoke. "I'm perfect. Like somebody's dream ... I'm not real." 

Chloe was stunned by the bitterness in Lana's voice. After a while, Lana asked her, "You know what happened last year, with the Nicodemus flower?" Chloe nodded slightly, recalling the bits and pieces of information that were lodged somewhere in her brain. She knew that Lana had been infected with the flower, and that it had made her do things that she normally wouldn't have done, like wanting to cut a few classes with Whitney and trying to seduce Clark. 

Lana continued in the same, deathly bitter voice. "I did all these things. I didn't remember at first, but the memories came back to me a few days later. I wanted to cut class with Whitney. I tried to seduce Lex ..." Chloe's brows shot up in surprise. "... I offered to go skinny dipping with Clark. I felt so _free_." Lana swivelled just enough for Chloe to catch the hardness of her expression in profile. "And people thought that was okay, because I was _infected._" 

Lana swung gracefully on her heels, staring intently at Chloe as she approached her. "You see, it wasn't really me. It wasn't really ... perfect Lana ... doing all those things." 

Chloe blinked. "And ... was it you?" she asked, not sure whether she really wanted to know the answer. 

Lana smiled, a strange half-mysterious, half-tortured smile that Chloe could never have imagined gracing Lana's face if not for the fact that she was actually witnessing it now in front of her. Chloe swallowed several times, licking suddenly dry lips as her mind whirled with Lana's revelations. It seemed strange that Lana had chosen to confide in her, especially now with the Clark situation standing between them. They had been getting closer before the whole Prom debacle last year, but ever since then Chloe had been careful to insulate herself against Lana and Clark as much as possible. 

"I'd like to think it was." 

With that Lana strode past, leaving Chloe standing in the middle of the deserted cemetery, furiously wondering whether she had just witnessed a side of Lana Lang that no one had ever glimpsed before.   


(c) July 2002


	6. Part Six

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Six ~*~*

Chloe rubbed her cold hands together. Wrapping her coat tighter around her, she looked around the quiet street. This was Smallville at night, she thought. My town. 

The months had flown by as Chloe immersed had herself in her work. There had been so much to do, what with her regular school work, editorials and layouts for the Torch as well as her job applications for next summer - she had hardly even noticed Clark's total absence from her life. 

Except of course, for the times when she _had _noticed. 

The one major difference in her life now was that she had taken to skulking around town, always keeping to the shadows like some brooding superhero, arranging for herself to do errands later or earlier than usual. That way, she assured herself, she would have the least chance of running into Clark. 

Clark Kent, the town's newly crowned swimming hero. He had led the Smallville High swimming team to unprecedented glory by winning the State Championships. She could almost chuckle at the irony of the fact, that of all the things that Clark had most wanted in life (besides Lana) he had gotten the whole town worship thing. To be fair, Chloe didn't think that Clark's previous passion for football had as much to do with the fame and glory per se; he had craved it so that he would have had enough fire power to register on the Lana jock-meter. 

Now he had the fame and the glory. And he also had her. 

According to all known sources, both reliable and unreliable, Clark Kent at last had what he had craved for so long - Lana Lang. God knew what happened with Whitney.

Which was weird, really, because Chloe felt certain that if she hadn't blown up at Clark like that, effectively severing their friendship, it wouldn't have happened so quickly. 

She sighed at the perversity of Life. 

Life for Chloe during the past few months had not been as unpleasant as she thought they would have been. There was something to be said for total immersion in work and the total lack of conflicted turmoil milling about underneath the surface of her emotions. It bred a kind of contentment and peace that Chloe had missed about life - before her feelings for Clark had escalated to its disastrous eruption. 

On reflection, she knew that she could have gone on living the way she had, biting her lip whenever Clark stared at Lana, wondering whether he'd rather be with her than Chloe. Forgiving him for doing that total turnaround at the Prom, and letting things run their natural course. 

But that wasn't what Chloe had wanted, or as she felt now, what she deserved. She deserved a guy who would fall head over heels in love with her full stop, without all the baggage that came with incessant doubting over whether he loved her the way she wanted him to love her, or ... well, she had just wanted to know whether they had been real - that he had really liked her for her and had not given the dating thing a try for the sake of their friendship. 

Ironically enough, while she still couldn't really stomach the thought of being in the same room with Clark, she had developed a sort of quasi-friendship with Lana. Chloe, for one, didn't know why Lana had insisted on pushing the friendship - god knew that every other normal person in her situation would have known to stay the hell away, especially when Chloe had been in her 'take no prisoners' mode for the first few weeks PC (Post Clark). But Lana had been persistent and so unshakeably nice, caring about whether Chloe was truly okay, showing up at her house at odd times with coffee in hand and arranging study sessions for their shared classes - that she had broken through even Chloe's acerbic, cynical defences long enough for Chloe to succumb to her friendship. Of course, after that night in the graveyard, becoming better friends with Lana Lang hadn't been as alien a concept as she had previously thought. 

So she and Lana were friends, while she and Clark weren't. Talk about a screwed up world.

Chloe straightened as she turned the last thought over in her mind. It wasn't just screwed up, she thought. It was downright weird.

Making an internal decision, she turned around the corner and found herself in front of The Talon for the first time in months. She had avoided going to the place for very obvious reasons - after all, the whole avoiding Clark thing would have been moot if she had dared to show her face in there - but today, she felt refreshed. Her life had basically been on hold for the past few months, and maybe today she was ready to move on. 

She peered cautiously through the window, scanning the area for Clark. She was feeling refreshed but not that refreshed. She would leave Clark to another lifetime. 

Seeing no sign of him, she took a deep breath and went in. 

The Talon was buzzing with life. Chloe scanned the room without knowing who or what she was searching for. Bereft of her friends, she felt entirely lost amidst the sea of activity in the coffee house. Everyone seemed to be with someone, having fun, chatting and feeling relaxed. Which was in direct contrast to Chloe at the moment, her fists clenched tightly in her pockets and her entire body tense as a board. 

"Chloe." She quickly turned around as Lana approached, astutely trying to avoid the surprised expression on the other girl's face. "How are you?" 

"Good." She eyed Lana, frowning at her messy hair and harried expression. "You look like hell." Chloe said honestly.

Lana gave a quick chuckle. "I know, I feel it. Everyone called in sick today at the last minute, and I couldn't get anyone to cover for them. So here I am ... serving the worst coffee in the world and hoping people don't notice." 

Chloe looked around the buzzing room, alive with talk and activity. "I could help, if you like." She shrugged as she yanked off her shoulder bag. "I mean, I drink a lot of coffee, and -" 

"Would you?" Lana asked hopefully, not bothering to hide her desperation. "I'm desperate." 

"I know." Chloe couldn't suppress a smile at Lana's frenzied expression. "Just tell me what you want me to do." 

"Thanks Chloe." Lana relaxed visibly, although Chloe was just starting to realise how peaked the former cheerleader looked. She began to appreciate just how much work and effort it took for Lana to run the coffee house. To think that Chloe had been complaining about the amount of _her _work. 

Lana led Chloe to the back room to allow her to dump her bag and coat, and to don an apron. 

"You look like a real waitress." Lana smiled at her, her eyes twinkling. 

"Yeah, except for the part about knowing what to do." Chloe replied with a light-hearted smile. "I should warn you, I'm kind of a klutz sometimes. I might drop things." 

Lana shook back her hair and laughed. "Worse than me?" 

Chloe gave her an appraising look. "Maybe not." She smiled. "Although knowing me, I could give you some stiff competition." 

Lana shrugged her shoulders in mirth. "Why not. I could use some competition." And with that they headed out to face the might of Smallville's coffee drinking population.

***

"So that was one tall half-decaf latte, one short non-fat latte, one tall cappuccino and a short non-fat chai ... latte?" 

"And two banana muffins." The fussy girl said. 

"And two banana muffins." Chloe quickly scribbled the last order down, cursing her moment of weakness by offering her incompetent services to Lana.  
  
She had been standing at this table for five minutes trying to get the order right, struggling to remember what latte was which and who wanted what, and at the same time restraining herself from wanting to tip the entire contents of said latte over the blonde airhead's head. Which only led her to one inevitable conclusion - that she sucked at being a waitress big time. 

She sucked big chunks, and it was still only 8 o'clock. The post-dinner rush would be starting soon. 

Chloe absently blew blonde wisps of hair off her face as she deposited the order with Lana. Watching Lana in action, harried and anxious as she was, Chloe was forced to admire her for her almost tireless energy and dedication. To have taken on all this work, and still be keeping up with school and not be a screaming, bitter individual took a lot of courage and well, niceness. 

Lana stared at her quizzically, catching Chloe in her moment of contemplation. Chloe smiled sheepishly, shaking her head distractedly as she went back to the melee. 

Somewhere at the back of her mind she was avoiding thinking about the Clark sighting she would almost inevitably make tonight. After all, what self-respecting boyfriend wouldn't camp out at his girlfriend's place of business every night, especially if that said boyfriend was Clark Kent, the High Priest in the temple of Lana. 

"Lana." Chloe froze as she heard Clark's voice sail easily over the crowded din of the room. Without thinking, she quickly dashed behind the counter and ducked her head, hoping he'd take his seat somewhere - away from there - and delay the inevitable disaster. 

"This is stupid Chloe." She muttered to herself. She was Chloe Sullivan - not some mousy little cry baby who trembled at the sight of her former best friend. If anything, Clark should hide from her. 

Lana's eyes were wide with awkwardness, and even Chloe couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor girl. She was caught in a real vice, of the Clark and Chloe variety.

"Oh ... Clark." She gasped in surprise as he leaned in to plant a quick kiss. Her eyes darted towards Chloe's, but Chloe quickly looked away, pretending to concentrate on a spot of spilled coffee on the counter. "What are you doing here?" 

"Practice finished early." He grinned cheekily at her, not noticing her obvious awkwardness. "Thought I'd pay my girlfriend a visit." 

Even through all the hurt she was feeling at the moment and the painful drumming of her heart, Chloe had to roll her eyes. Clark could be such a living cliché at times. And also - a huge embarrassing dork. 

But Lana didn't seem to mind. She hugged him back, more comfortably this time as her shoulders relaxed, leaning into his frame. Chloe grabbed a cloth and began to clean the counter in front of her viciously. 

She would not get emotional. She would not get emotional.

Clark's eyes widened when he spotted Chloe by the counter. His hands dropped heavily to his sides as he let go of Lana, disentangling himself from her arms.

"Chloe." He breathed in that unique Clark way of his, as he quickly stalked over. 

"Yeah?" Chloe said coolly, continuing to scrub the same spot on the counter.  
  
"You're here." 

"Ah - yeah." 

Lana came up behind him and quickly glanced between Chloe and Clark. "Chloe's just helping me out tonight. Everybody called in sick at the last minute." Clark nodded mutely, his eyes still trained on Chloe, who shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze. Noticing this, Lana smiled at Chloe and quickly excused herself, "I better go look after the customers." 

Clark's gaze never left Chloe's face. She was starting to feel just a little bit self-conscious. It was like he was trying to see through her. 

Finally he smiled, making Chloe involuntarily relax. "I haven't seen you in months Chloe. How have you been?"

"Good." She blushed underneath his gaze, her throat suddenly dry. She didn't know what else to say after everything that she had said in their last conversation.

All of a sudden her emotions came flooding to the fore. She missed him. She missed everything they did together, from all the crazy pseudo-journalistic stunts to investigating weird phenomena around town, to their relaxed talks about life, the universe and everything. She missed their regular coffee sessions, she missed arguing with someone who could put up with her sarcasm  
and wit, and she missed having a best friend like Clark. 

"Look Clark, I'm so sorry-" 

"I'm so sorry Chloe-" 

They looked at each other in embarrassing confusion. Then Clark ducked his head, motioning for Chloe to continue. 

Chloe took a deep breath. "Clark, I'm sorry for saying all those things to you. I shouldn't have said them." She was sorry, regretting the time that they had to spend apart just so she could miss him with the ache and pain that she was missing him now. 

"No, I'm sorry. You were right - I was taking everything for granted. I just - I was so confused, and I didn't know what to do ... about us. I was - I was feeling all these things -" 

"You don't ... you don't have to talk about it." Chloe interrupted him as her understanding crystallised. She suddenly understood why Clark had treated her the way he had. He had been in love with Lana, but he had also started having feelings for Chloe. One feeling had been crystal clear, while the other had been murky, a whirlpool of confusion. He had been pulled in two directions by these emotions and being Clark, he had just stood still, hoping for one emotion or the other to tug him across the line. 

Chloe had effectively pushed him over the line. The timing had just been so wrong, she realised with regret lingering in her heart. It could have worked out, but for Clark's inactivity and her explosive temper. 

Clark's voice dragged her back to the present. "No, I want to -" 

"Clark, I just want to learn to be friends again." She interrupted him again, raising imploring eyes to meet his glittering blue orbs. "All that other stuff - we can deal with that later." 

He frowned, staring at her with that patented intense gaze that made Chloe think he was trying to somehow look into her, through her. She almost buckled under the strain of her feigned neutrality. "Are you sure Chloe?" 

"I'm sure." They stared at each other seriously, before she burst into a smile. "Can we hug now?" 

Needing no further encouragement, Clark closed the gap between them and enveloped her in the warmest, friendliest bear hug she could ever remember, a hug that was uniquely Clark-like. She buried her face into his chest, inhaling the scent of chlorine and hay that clung to his sweater, sighing happily in contentment. 

She had her friend back, and as far as Chloe was concerned, everything else be damned. 

A polite cough drew Chloe back from the oblivion of happiness that had erupted within her. She had actually forgotten where they were. 

She turned to face Lana, who was grinning like a mad woman, apron and tray in hand. "What's this?" She asked her curiously. 

Lana smiled mischievously. "Clark's going to help us out, aren't you Clark?" She batted her eyelashes at him, and any resistance that Clark was going to put up dissipated like thin trails of smoke into the cool night air. 

Clark looked up reluctantly, although his blue eyes glinted with mirth. "I am, aren't I?" 

Chloe didn't even bother feeling sorry for him. 

(c) July 2002


	7. Part Seven

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Seven ~*~*

"What's this?" 

Chloe spun around, surprised enough by the sight of Lex Luthor standing almost on top of her to spill the two lattes that had been precariously balanced on her tray. Giving him a look that would have felled normal human beings, she cursed silently, quickly bending down to mop up the spilled contents. "Is there a rule in the billionaire playboy handbook that says you _have _to scare the hell out of people?" She snapped. 

Lex bent down and retrieved the two empty mugs on the floor. "I don't think it's an actual rule, but I do try to keep up the practice." Grinning suggestively at her, he placed the mugs onto the tray in her outstretched hand, "And you know, practice makes perfect." 

Chloe smiled tightly despite feeling strangely flustered, not deigning to make a reply. Although Lex Luthor was the richest and most powerful person she had ever met, and probably would ever meet, it didn't give him the right to scare the living bejesus out of someone and then turn on some sort of weird bald playboy pseudo-charm, whether that said someone was an incompetent waitress or not.

Noting her infuriated silence, he smiled charmingly at her, and in the best conciliatory tone he could muster he asked politely, "So what brings you to the Talon tonight Chloe? I thought you liked drinking coffee, not serving it." 

Chloe straightened up to her full though not very substantial height and stiffly informed him, "Everyone called in sick at the last minute, so I decided to help Lana out." Inwardly Chloe cursed at the lameness of her comeback, which when viewed objectively seconds later was not, in fact, a comeback at all but a lame answer to an equally lame question. Which made her feel slightly better, although why Chloe was feeling this flustered she could not fathom. 

He eyed her apron and her tousled hair. "Busy night I take it?" 

Immediately her hands flew to her hair, running a careful hand through her blonde locks. "Yeah." She eyed him back, taking in the way his metallic grey silk shirt, tailored pants and black suede jacket contrasted with the pale smoothness of his marble-like skin. She cleared her throat self-consciously. "So what are you doing here so late?" 

He chuckled, and Chloe had to stifle the urge to force feed a gallon of the horrible coffee she had made tonight up his nose. "I just came in to get a coffee." His eyes sparkled in the dim light as he continued, "Besides, given that I did put up the funds for this place, is it so surprising that I'd be here?" 

Chloe blinked owlishly at him, her mind suddenly envisioning a few more unique ways for Lex Luthor to die a horrible, preferably un-graceful death. 

She swallowed. "If you're looking for Clark, he's over there with Lana." She paused, tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. "And if you're looking for Lana, she's about to close up the counter." She jerked her head in that direction, only to find Lex's gaze trained on her. 

Lex's eyes narrowed in surprise at her mention of Clark. Chloe thought he looked secretly pleased, although she could not for the life of her imagine why that would be the case. "So you and Clark are speaking again?" he asked, although to Chloe it came across more rhetorical than not. 

"Uh, yeah." She replied, suddenly feeling every inch the awkward school girl. Which she was _not_, because that would have been decidedly too un-Chloe like for her mind to deal with. She didn't know why Lex's presence made her feel so unsettled. 

"Good." Chloe was surprised to see him smile warmly down at her. It was a very different smile from the smug one he had used on her earlier, and very different to all the other smiles she had seen him wear before. This one seemed different because it looked so genuine ... it feltso genuine, like he was smiling from his heart. 

She snatched her mind back from contemplating the exact nature of Lex's smiles, and asked curiously, "Wait a minute - why are you so happy that Clark and I are talking again?" 

Lex put an arm around her tiny shoulders, much in the way that an older brother might, which infuriated Chloe for no reason at all. "Clark's my friend, and he's been miserable the past few months because you wouldn't talk to him. And I - as both your friends - am happy to know that you two have managed to work it out." He paused. "Even though I knew you weren't exactly friendless." He gestured meaningfully in the general direction of Lana.

Her brows flew heavenwards as she tried to dislodge his arm. "Is there anything you don't know?" She asked, wondering why he was keeping such a tight grip on her.

He stared intently down at her, and Chloe had to stifle the urge to shuffle her feet on the spot. Long seconds dragged by while he seemed to be measuring his response. Chloe blinked rapidly, trying to dislodge the sensation of thousand butterflies swimming around in her stomach. She had officially entered the Twilight Zone, she thought, as she looked up at Lex scant inches away from her face. 

She would have laughed if not for the surrealness of it. She was staring up at Lex Luthor, billionaire playboy extraordinaire, like he was some fascinating plaything (one who admittedly annoyed the hell out of her), while he seemed to be channelling all his energies into trying to read her soul. Chloe shivered slightly. Yep, definitely the Twilight Zone. 

After what seemed like a million years to Chloe, but was in actuality probably only a few seconds, he said quietly, "There's plenty that I don't know." 

There was nothing Chloe could say to that, so she didn't even try. A part of her bemused mind wondered whether she was dreaming, although to dream about Lex Luthor staring at her the way he was staring at her seemed a tad too incredible to be believed - even if it _was _her mind, the craziness that had spawned the Wall of Weird. 

The moment was shattered when Chloe heard Clark cheerfully greet Lex, making his way over to where they stood. Lex's arm was still wrapped around Chloe's shoulder, although his hold had shifted slightly from intense to playful. 

"Lex." Clark greeted them, his infectious grin dampening slightly as he saw Lex's arm still slung around Chloe. 

"Clark." Lex smiled back, pretending to ignore Clark's close scrutiny of him. 

Noting Clark's increasingly suspicious expression, Chloe shoved Lex's arm off her shoulders and smiled sweetly at him, inexplicably annoyed at his behaviour. "As much as I loved our little chat," her voice dripped with false sweetness, "I really need to get back to serving coffee. You know, that little thing known as 'working'." Satisfied with herself that she had at least mustered enough sarcasm to muzzle Lex's smugness for a little while, she haughtily walked off, conscious of the dual stares from Clark and Lex boring into her back behind her.   
  
Chloe went back to the counter to refill the mugs of coffee that she had spilled earlier. Still feeling slightly off-balance, she was conscious of Lana as she sidled up to her side, clutching her record keeping book against her chest. She frowned in irritation.   
  
"What?" She asked her unceremoniously, eyeing Lana suspiciously.   
  
"Nothing." Lana smiled innocently, with all the sincerity of an apple. "Just noticed your cosy little chat with Lex just then."   
  
"It was *_not_* cosy." Chloe exploded. "If you must know, he was successfully annoying the hell out of me."   
  
"Really?" Lana didn't seem to believe her, and Chloe had to admit that she didn't sound all that convinced herself. "Didn't look that way to me."   
  
Chloe bit back her irritation. She wasn't used to talking to Lana about anything guy related, or talking to anyone about anything guy related for that matter. Her entire existence growing up had been dominated by Clark and Pete, and one didn't talk about guys when one's best friends _were _guys. She and Lana had talked about a lot of things during the past few months, but they had carefully stayed away from anything that could possibly be construed as male-related, since male-related topics would inevitably lead to Clark which would pretty much lead to badness on the scale somewhere north of a national disaster. The feeling was strange and new. "Well, it was. Not cosy that is. And don't even *_think* _what you're thinking right now."   
  
Lana's eyes twinkled with what Chloe suspected as mischievousness. "What am I thinking right now?" The ex-cheerleader asked slyly.   
  
If Chloe didn't know Lana as well as she did, she would have been surprised by the open delight that Lana took in putting Chloe through this excruciating torture. It had taken a few months for Lana's playful side to come out, but once out ... Chloe sometimes regretted her penchant for straight-and-forward honesty and her determination to see people's true personalities come out.   
  
Chloe huffed, flustered enough so that all she could muster were a few inarticulate strangling noises. "Oh ... bite me." She spluttered, as she walked away to serve waiting customers.   
  
Lana giggled uncontrollably in her wake.   
  


(c) July 2002


	8. Part Eight

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Eight ~*~*

  
Chloe felt herself slowly sinking into the dirt and mud. Her hands and knees squelched uncomfortably as she crawled through the small field on the outskirts of town, the site of a bizarre accident which she suspected (as always) had to do with the meteor rocks that were scattered around Smallville. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for; it had been a hunch to come to the accident site to look for anything that would indicate that something hadn't been quite right about Joe Miller's truck that had collided with a tree at breakneck speed - with him still in it. The police department had ruled it a suicide, but Chloe's dad had known Joe Miller when they were younger and he was certain that Joe would never have done what they said he had done.   
  
So Chloe's hypersensitive reporter's instincts had kicked into gear, with the extremely unpleasant result of landing her - right here, wrists and ankles deep in mud or bog or whatever meteoric primordial soup this guck was.   
  
Chloe screwed up her nose in disgust. Luckily she had come prepared, and she was decked out in an old t-shirt and a pair of overalls that she had found in the garage last night. Which didn't make being drowned in mud all right, but it helped.   
  
She sighed. The things she did in the name of quality journalism.   
  
Her summer job applications had been going well, and she was currently in a mood that would have resembled extremely good if not for the whole being stuck in bog thing. She knew that it had been a wild stab in anti-matter to go for any type of newspaper job at all, considering the fact that she was a high school junior, but she had been surprised at the few interviews she had managed to wrangle. Granted, they were for smaller city papers that didn't have the national prestige as the New York Times or The Daily Planet, but at the same time, they weren't the Metropolis Inquisitor either.   
  
The sun was shining, and it left a pleasantly warm impression on her without threatening to burn the skin off the back of her neck. She and Clark and steadily been spending more and more time together trying to rebuild their friendship and if he was permanently lojacked to Lana, Chloe chose not to dwell on it too much. 

She was glad she had Pete though. The four of them hung out quite a lot between school, the Torch and the Talon, and it would have been beyond awkward if it had just been Clark, Lana and Chloe.   
  
So she was happy. Sort of. At least, she was thought she was getting there.   
  
Rustling behind her snapped her attention back to the present as a shadow fell across her form.   
  
It was Lex Luthor. 

Damn it. Damn the fact that she was crawling around in the mud while he stayed pristinely clean just scant feet away from her. Damn the fact that she was currently decked out in the drabbiest, oldest, most degrading outfit in the history of Chloe time, while he was dressed in sleek fabrics from head to toe (well, maybe not head). Damn ... everything. Damn him.  
  
He chuckled as he eyed her carefully. "Chloe, _what _in the world are you doing?"   
  
She brushed an annoying lock of hair out of her face before she realised her hands were covered with mud and guck. She swore loudly.   
  
Lex chuckled reproachfully. "Now, now, mind your language young lady."   
  
Why did he insist on treating her as if she was twelve years old, Chloe raged internally. After all, he wasn't that much older than her.   
  
Lex repeated his question as he bent down to her eye level. "Again I ask, what are you doing here?"   
  
"I'm doing some investigative reporting." She sat up to a kneeling position.  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing here?" He asked with a crooked smile.   
  
"No." She said infuriatingly. Her good mood had just dissipated like morning mist in the sun.   
  
"Well, I'll tell you anyway." He paused, while Chloe remained resolutely silent. "This is LuthorCorp land, you know."   
  
That startled her. "What?" She exclaimed. "This is the middle of nowhere. What could LuthorCorp possibly want with this?" She gestured vaguely around her.   
  
Lex shrugged, in that supremely casual yet elegant way of his. "My father obviously believes in accumulating land wherever he can. It'll probably come in handy one of these days." He frowned. "I came to see if there was anything strange about Joe Miller's accident here. Thought I'd check out the site. Which brings me to ask - for the third time - what are you doing here?"   
  
His expression made Chloe gulp. She guessed that he wasn't used to not having his questions answered.   
  
"I was trawling for any weird stuff." At his puzzled expression, she elaborated, "You know, with the accident."   
  
His frowned deepened, although Chloe couldn't tell whether it was from puzzlement or displeasure. "What were you hoping to find knee deep in mud?"   
  
She shrugged. "It was just a hunch." She sighed ruefully. "I don't think I'm getting anywhere."   
  
He smiled as he looked at Chloe in overalls, mud splattered all over her clothing, looking up at him with her round, hazel eyes. The image reminded him of a child in a very dirty sand box. "You know don't take this the wrong way, but ... did you think of asking for any help with this?" He jerked his head down at her.   
  
"Of course I did." She said indignantly. "Clark and Lana are meeting me here, and Pete's coming after practice." She glanced around the deserted landscape, half-praying for them to materialise soon. It was taking a surprising amount of energy to converse with Lex and to cover it up well enough from him. He seemed to unsettle her in a way that didn't allow her to recover too quickly, with the result being that she was constantly off-kilter, trying to regain her balance while keeping up her end of the conversation.   
  
Lex grinned as he stood up, his eyes squinting in the bright sunshine. He held his hand out to her, "Let me help you up from there."   
  
Chloe managed not to stare too hard at his proffered hand. This was precisely what she had meant about Lex unsettling her as no other person had done before. One minute he was being annoying and falsely ingratiating, the next he was playing the chivalrous gentleman, offering to help her up. She was definitely baffled, and it was an altogether uncomfortable feeling for Chloe, who generally liked to know where she stood with someone even before they knew.   
  
She put her hand into his and gripped it tightly. It felt surprisingly warm; Chloe had half expected it to be as cold as the isolated image he sometimes portrayed, especially as the head of the plant where her father worked. It came as a shock to her that he felt like a living, breathing person.   
  
He shifted his weight as Chloe allowed herself to be hauled up. If every damsel in distress got such chivalrous treatment, she wouldn't mind finding herself in trouble more often, she thought to herself.  
  
Suddenly he slipped, and before Chloe could even think to regain her balance, she toppled backwards, taking him down with her. He landed on top of her, and for a moment their bodies were pressed tightly together, his weight on top of her surprisingly gentle as his body somehow melded into hers. She could feel the heat from him through the thin material of his shirt, and even more disconcerting was the heat coming from his eyes as they stared intently down into hers.   
  
He was on top of her, she repeated incoherently in the recesses of her mind.  
  
He sprung off her as if she had burned him and quickly rolled to the side. Catching their breath, they stared at each other for a long moment before they finally burst out laughing.   
  
In between peals of laughter, she said, "I'm so sorry Lex ..." She brushed a muddied hand to his now equally muddied clothing. "Your shirt ..." She trailed off, as her attempts to clean him up resulted in him becoming even more dirtier.   
  
It was a nice shirt, a grey micro fibre blend that made it shimmer and reflect the sun's rays as he moved, and even though Chloe didn't really have the faintest clue where it came to clothes, she at least had the good sense to appreciate the luxurious feel of the fabric against her skin.  
  
What a minute, was she actually feeling Lex's shirt in the middle of a deserted field? More importantly, was she actually feeling Lex's shirt while it was _on _him?  
  
Still grinning broadly, he looked down at the state of his clothes and said nonchalantly, "Well, I guess it's good I have other shirts like this." He reached out suddenly and ran one muddied hand down her cheek, brushing her hair out of her face before flopping onto his back in the muddy pool.   
  
Chloe froze in partial shock and disbelief. What the hell?  
  
But before she had more time to disseminate what had just happened, Lex recalled her attention. "You know I've never actually played in mud before?" He craned his neck up to look at her from his horizontal position. "It's interesting. Very ... squishy."   
  
Chloe raised her eye brows sceptically. "You've never played in mud before? What kind of a kid were you?"   
  
"The obscenely rich kind." His smile dropped of his face for a microsecond before it burst out again. Chloe had never seen him so relaxed. He continued, "It's nice down here Chloe. Come down and join me."   
  
She blushed at the myriad of things that had sprung in her head at that comment, hoping to whatever God out there that he hadn't noticed her lapse.   
  
Evidently he hadn't, or if he had, he wisely chose to ignore it. He reached out and gripped her arm lightly, tugging her backwards towards the pool of mud behind her.   
  
"Lex ..." She said uncertainly.   
  
"Come on Chloe." Chloe blushed more furiously at the suggestive lilt in his voice. "You know you want to ..."  
  
Throwing caution to the winds, she allowed herself to be tugged down. The mud squished at her sides and into her hair with a gross squelching noise as she lay flat on her back, her gaze never leaving Lex's.

She briefly wondered whether she had gone completely insane. Here she was, out in the middle of nowhere lying in a pool of mud and guck with the richest man in Smallville - who was now actually _playing _with the mud that dripped off his arms. Had she accidentally tripped into an alternate dimension where Lex Luthor wasn't a sophisticated, immaculately groomed playboy, but instead an extremely juvenile 21 year old guy with a penchant for getting down and dirty? 

After what seemed like an indeterminably long time, she blurted out, "This is - and I can't emphasise this enough - _completely _insane." She looked askance at him. "What are we doing?" 

Lex laughed - an honest to goodness hearty laugh that Chloe had never heard from him before. "I don't know." He turned and looked at her, his head and side already completely covered in the wet, gooey mud. "But I've never had so much fun." 

"Really?" Chloe asked, naked surprise in her voice. 

Lex nodded in the affirmative. "We should do this more often." He said casually. 

"Ah ..." What could Chloe possibly say to that? "That'd be ... nice. I think." He chuckled, as if suddenly aware of the craziness of that idea. 

He suddenly flipped to his side, propping his head up with one hand and absently drawing circles in the mud with the other. "I never asked you how you were doing today." 

She had to swallow a few times from astonishment before she could reply. It took all of Chloe's energy to keep up with Lex's swift change in moods. "I'm ... I suppose I'm okay." She pause, before adding, "I guess you can even say I'm feeling pretty good." 

"Oh." He said thoughtfully, bringing his leg over his body. "And why's that?" 

Chloe was still astonished that he actually _cared _about what she wanted to say. "I guess ... well, I heard today that I got an interview with the Metropolis Beagle, you know, for a summer job. I have to go up there for the interview next week." 

Lex looked genuinely impressed. "Wow. That's a big deal for a junior, isn't it?" 

She nodded, forgetting her slight awkwardness as she warmed to her favourite topic. "Yeah. I was really surprised ... but I figured I'd just give it a shot, see what happened." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I still have ages to go before I crack the big time anyway." Chloe smiled infectiously, adding, "You know, before I become a hot shot reporter."

Lex grinned back at her. "Well, let me drive you to Metropolis next week." 

"Oh, you don't have to do that." She said quickly, hoping it didn't sound like she was ungrateful for the offer. Which she was, because wow, Lex Luthor offering to be her chauffeur? A priceless memory if ever there was one.   
  
He waved her objections away. "I've got business in Metropolis anyway." He added devilishly. "I'd like the company."   
  
"Well ..." She said dubiously, "if you're sure ..." 

"I am." He reached out and for a fleeting moment, Chloe thought that he was going to touch her cheek again - or possibly do something more. Her whole body tensed with anticipation. 

His hand was scant inches from her face when he suddenly scooped a handful of mud from the ground and unceremoniously dumped it on top of her head. To add insult to injury, he was smirking in that patented-Lex way of his. 

For a few seconds Chloe froze with shock. She blinked several times, as she wiped mud from her face. Her eyes glinting dangerously, she said quietly, "Lex Luthor you are going to regret that." 

He cocked a single eyebrow at her, and smiled infuriatingly. That was _it _- Chloe lost all sense of propriety. She _would _have revenge, LuthorCorp heir or not. 

She took two handfuls of dark, dank mud and threw them, straight at Lex's face. She quickly followed up her assault with another two blistering handfuls, this time aimed at his chest. Mud splattered all over his face and clothes.

His eyes widened. Lex looked shocked and stunned and speechless at the same time.   
  
A treacherous glint rose in his eyes. Quick as lightening he scooped up two handfuls of mud and smeared it over her hair and face. She grabbed his wrists in a vain attempt to stop him, but unfortunately for Chloe, her small build was no match for Lex's lean strength.   
  
Chloe couldn't help laughing as streams of mud rained down on her. She felt like a kid again, playing outdoors and getting dirty for no sane person reason at all. The air was warm and a fresh breeze blew through her hair, making her feel so delightfully free - as if the drama of the past few months were of no consequence at all.   
  
And that was the way that Clark and Lana found them - two lunatics sitting out in the middle of a deserted field, covered in dark, murky goo, and laughing insanely as if there was no tomorrow. 

(c) July 2002


	9. Part Nine

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Nine ~*~*

  
Clark was half-frowning, half-smiling in that unique way of his as he and Lana just stood and watched Chloe and Lex. They were having so much fun that it took their usually sharp instincts a while to realise that Clark and Lana were actually there, witnessing them in all their silly glory.   
  
Chloe choked back a laugh when she spied Clark's bemused, though frowning expression. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.   
  
"Clark." Lex sat up quickly, managing somehow to look dignified, even though he was sitting in a dark pool of goo and covered in rapidly drying mud. "What a surprise." He noted dryly.   
  
"I could say the same." While not openly hostile, Chloe was surprised by the coldness in his tone before he quickly covered it up. "I knew Chloe wanted to search the field, but she didn't say anything about mud-wrestling. Maybe I should have packed my gym uniform." He forced a smile that to Chloe was transparently fake.   
  
Lana stared quickly between Clark, Lex and Chloe, before stepping forward and subtlety weaving her hand through Clark's. Smiling down at Chloe as if the tension that had suddenly arisen was no more than a faint twinge of the breeze, she said brightly, "I'm sorry we're late Chloe. I got held up helping Nell with some chores. You know how she gets."   
  
Chloe nodded, grateful for Lana's smiling presence. "Yeah." She gulped as she picked herself up gingerly from the ground. "I think we're about done here anyway." She sneaked a glance at Lex, who was sporting an intense frown on his face. "I need to get cleaned up."   
  
Clark held his hand out to Lex. Lex stared at it for a long moment, a look of intense concentration on his face before taking it and hauling himself up.   
  
"I need to get going too, the siren song of work calls." If possible his frown got even deeper, although his face broke out into a smile as he addressed Chloe. "I'll call you about Metropolis okay?"   
  
Chloe nodded hurriedly, not wanting to meet Clark's eyes. She didn't know why things suddenly felt so awkward, or why Clark suddenly cared who she spent time with even if it was in a deserted field in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't really any of his business, friend or no friend.   
  
Clark blinked as Lex walked off . They were silent for a few moments, staring after Lex's retreating form. Clark broke the stifling stillness.   
  
"What were you doing out here with Lex?" He asked abruptly.   
  
Chloe sighed. Trust Clark and his brutal-as-hell honesty. "I ran into him, okay?" She started walking rapidly away from him.   
  
"In the middle of nowhere?" Clark's normally smiling eyes squinted with suspicion, and if Chloe hadn't already smacked him a few months before, she would have been sorely tempted now. What right did he have to scrutinise her every move anyway?  
  
"Yes." She huffed, as Clark and Lana kept up behind her. Chloe didn't know where she was going or even what she actually was doing at the moment, but she just wished that Clark would go away and leave her alone. And also grow up.   
  
"In the middle of nowhere?" Clark asked again, as if saying it a second time might chang Chloe's answer.   
  
"Can you _please _stop saying that?" Her voice rose as she began losing her famously hot temper. "Four words." She spun back towards him. "None. Of. Your. Business."   
  
His eyes widened as momentary hurt flooded into his eyes. He opened his mouth but hurriedly clamped it shut again, obviously thinking back to the last time he had pushed Chloe beyond the edge. He sighed.   
  
They walked on in silence until they caught sight of Clark's truck, parked neatly in a small clearing by the side of the road.   
  
"You want a ride back into town?" Clark asked in a conciliatory tone, hoping to make some amends for his behaviour.   
  
Chloe hesitated. She was on the point of refusing him when Lana interjected, "Come on Chloe, we can give you a lift back to your house."   
  
Suddenly all the anxious energy drained out of Chloe. She felt tired - too tired to put up much of an argument, now that she had already had one with Clark. "Okay." She said quietly as she clambered into the truck.   
  
Clark slammed the doors shut and started the engine.   
  
They drove in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Chloe resolutely kept her gaze pasted to the rapidly rolling landscape as they headed back into town. The silence hung heavy in the air; it was almost tangible between Clark and Chloe in the small enclosed space of the truck. Chloe felt slightly sorry for Lana, who had ended up sandwiched between the two of them, although knowing Lana her positioning was probably by design in order to keep the peace.   
  
Evidently Clark couldn't stand the silence as much as Chloe, because he burst out with, "I'm sorry." He added, "I was just surprised, that's all. About you and Lex."   
  
Chloe gritted her teeth in irritation. What was it about her and Lex that made people think that there was a 'her and Lex'. He was a gazillion years older than her, heir to a billionaire fortune and more importantly, her father's boss. All factors that should have spelled 'not in this lifetime, not ever' to anyone with a passing interest, even if she had wanted anything to happen with him. Which she didn't. "There's nothing -" she forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing, "There's nothing going on, okay dork brain?" She glanced at Lana. "Can you inform your nosy boyfriend of this little fact? Because I don't think he's really going to get it."   
  
Clark continued as if he hadn't heard what Chloe had said, while Lana frowned. "It's just that ... I know Lex." Chloe could see him swallow carefully as his Adam's apple bopped up and down. "He's one of my best friends and everything, but I've seen him with women. I just don't want to  
see you get hurt."   
  
Chloe blinked, rapidly fighting down a million images that suddenly sprung up in her mind, all involving her doing something horribly violent to Clark. What made him think ... argh. Chloe usually liked people who were direct and forthright, but even she found Clark's innocent honesty a bit trying at times. Would it hurt him to get a clue?   
  
Clark is an idiot, she raged silently. And by the look on Lana's face, she thought so too.  
  
"As much as I'm enjoying this big brother routine you've got going Clark - just drop it. I'm not going to get hurt because - for those of us who missed the first broadcast - there is _nothing going on_." Chloe sat back onto the seat and crossed her arms, effectively ending the conversation.   
  
She was officially annoyed as hell with her best friend.   
  
Finally they reached her house. Almost as soon as Clark brought the rumbling truck to a stop, Chloe opened the door and leaped out as if her very life depended on it. Clark undid his seatbelt and was about to go after her when Lana placed a restraining arm on his hand.   
  
"You stay." She said in a tone that clearly brooked no argument. "I'll go." She leaped out of the truck after Chloe, hoping to catch the blonde before she had the opportunity to go into her house.   
  
"Chloe." Lana called after her. "Wait."   
  
Chloe paused in the act of opening the door and turned around. She spun around to watch as Lana gracefully walked up to her, an understanding smile on her beautiful face. "Are you okay?"   
  
Chloe sighed, fatigue creeping through every sinew of her body. "I guess. It's just -" she hesitated as she looked at Lana, wondering whether it was entirely appropriate to say what she was about to say, but she swallowed and continued anyway. "It's just that he confuses me sometimes. One minute he's all ignoring me and taking me for granted and the next-"   
  
"He's acting like he's jealous." Lana finished off matter-of-factly.   
  
"Don't get me wrong," Chloe continued hurriedly, hoping to dispel the hurt look in Lana's eyes, "I don't think it's - I mean, he's taken me for granted for so long that it never occurred to him that someone like Lex - I mean, not that there's anything there, but ... you know, we've been friends for so long ..." She trailed off lamely.  
  
For someone harbouring not-so-secret ambitions to become a big city reporter, Chloe was being surprisingly inarticulate.  
  
Lana frowned, her downcast eyes gazing at an invisible spot somewhere in the vicinity of Chloe's muddy shoes. She seemed to be deep in thought, so much so that Chloe was beginning to feel like an intruder in her privacy.   
  
"He _is_ jealous." Lana said quietly, in a tone that made Chloe feel that she was confirming it to herself rather than wanting Chloe's opinion of it. She stuck her hands in her pockets as her frown deepened, although the rest of her face remained determinedly passive.   
  
Finally she smiled, a strangely lopsided smile given the fact that it was coming from Lana. "Are you going to come by the Talon later?"   
  
"Ah ..." Chloe looked closely at Lana, trying to catch any hint of what Lana was really thinking about at the moment but to no avail. "I think I'll just crash. Get an early night." She nodded, awkwardly pursing her lips in the silence that followed.   
  
"Okay." Lana said at last, and Chloe was just sharp enough to detect a hint of false brightness in the other girl's eyes. "See you later Chloe."  
  
Chloe watched Lana's retreating figure as she climbed back into Clark's truck. Maybe it had been a trick of the light, but it seemed to Chloe that a veil of sadness had descended over Lana's normally bright countenance. And she had the sinking suspicion that she was the cause of it all.

(c) July 2002


	10. Part Ten

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Ten ~*~*

  
"Chloe, wait up." Chloe turned and waited as Clark caught up to her, skilfully weaving through the milling students in their path. In the next instant he was by her side. "Hey."   
  
"Hey yourself." A shower and a good night's sleep had changed Chloe's attitude towards her clueless but endearingly innocent best friend. Although still resolutely avoiding the 'what the hell happened with Lex' issue, she had allowed her mind to chew on what had happened with Clark yesterday. She smiled at the relieved expression that diffused over his handsome face.   
  
"I thought you were going to stay mad at me." He gave her a toothy grin, his lips ruby red in the bright sunlight. "I'm glad you're not."   
  
And there was the famous Kent charm, Chloe thought to herself. She couldn't resist breaking out into a fresh grin at his infectiously good mood. "I'm glad I'm not too."   
  
They continued walking down the hall together, dodging students in their path. "Chloe, I'm sorry for all the stuff I said yesterday." He blurted out, "It isn't any of my business."   
  
Chloe bit her lip in the silence. Clark was being the nice good morals farm boy, and Chloe didn't want to mess it up by saying anything that might possibly be construed as snarky and ungrateful. After all he _was _right - it wasn't any of his business.  
  
"You know I didn't mean to be, well, mean." He continued. "It's just that ..." he looked around cautiously, as if checking for eavesdroppers, "... I really care about you Chloe." His voice lowered until it was barely above a whisper. "Sometimes I think I care too much."   
  
Chloe blinked rapidly, her mind racing. She was usually an idiot as far as getting subtle nuances were concerned, but was Clark saying what she thought he was saying? She glanced around them. A busy school hall was so not the place to be having a private conversation, given that it was such a hotbed of gossip and intrigue.  
  
She swallowed. "You know you should go talk to Lana." Chloe forced out a smile. "She thinks you were - jealous."   
  
Clark didn't seem at all surprised by her disclosure. If anything, he looked distinctly guilty. "I think I was - I am." He said quietly. With a note of desperation, he continued, "I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few months Chloe, especially when you and I weren't ... talking." He leaned in, forcing Chloe to crane her neck up even further in order to meet his gaze, "I missed you when you weren't around. I missed all our conversations and your crazy theories and ... I really missed _you_." 

Chloe frowned, puzzled as to the direction he was going. "Ah ... I missed you too."   
  
"Sometimes I wish things were ... different." He continued, his eyes no longer willing to meet hers.   
  
She ducked her head, trying to meet his eyes, but his attention remained fixed at a spot somewhere behind her back. "Different?"   
  
His jaw clenched, and Chloe began to feel a sinking sensation in her stomach. Her reporter's instincts were screaming to her that whatever he wanted to say, it wasn't going to be good.   
  
"Sometimes I wonder what would have happened ... with us ... if I hadn't run out on you at the Prom. I wonder what it'd be like to, you know ..."   
  
She jerked to a stop and turned to face him, her eyes wide and imploring. "What are you saying Clark?"  
  
"I don't know what I'm saying." He looked so lost and forlorn that Chloe couldn't manage even a hint of resentment at him. He looked genuinely confused and battered by his emotions. She looked on in sympathy. Clark just felt too much sometimes. "I don't know what I'm doing. I love Lana, I really do but ... I also care about you." He mumbled, his head almost drooping in misery. 

Chloe just stared at him, unable to hide the amazement that she knew must be spreading all over her face. She had just been (sort of) handed her Holy Grail. To hear Clark Kent say these things to her, saying that he might have made a mistake in choosing Lana ... wasn't that what she had wanted all along? She knew that over the past few months she had convinced everyone, including herself, that she was practically over the farm boy charm of Clark Kent.   
  
But she knew that deep down, it would take a hell of a lot longer than a few months to get over her feelings for Clark. Of course she had feelings. Chloe was human after all, and falling out of love with one of your best friends wasn't something that happened overnight, if indeed it ever happened at all. There was much to be said for Chloe's stubborn optimism and well, her overall stubbornness.   
  
And now here she was, hearing what she had secretly wanted to hear for all these months, maybe even all these years - and how did it make her feel?  
  
Miserable. She felt miserable and confused.   
  
If only she hadn't gotten to know Lana so well over these past few months, she probably wouldn't have felt as bad right now, as she looked at the play of Clark's emotions so clearly visible on his face. Now that she had gotten to know Lana so much better, now that Lana had willingly revealed more of her true vulnerability to Chloe, now that Chloe knew just how deeply Lana felt things and how much she genuinely loved Clark - this was the most perverse, ridiculous situation that Life had dealt her since ever.   
  
She felt horrible and terrible and confused.   
  
Of course, she felt horrible and terrible and confused because of Lana. It was all about Lana, and had nothing whatsoever to do with a certain follicly challenged individual who remained nameless, even within the confused confines of her brain.  
  
Talk about the lame high school melodrama that was masquerading as her life.  
  
She knew she looked shocked, and probably flabbergasted and a thousand other things that she really didn't have time to describe to her shocked and confused brain at the moment. Her mouth was hanging open and she was sure something was going to come out from it eventually - featured word _eventually_.  
  
Clearly Chloe had yet to master the skill of remaining cool and elegant under pressure.   
  
She blinked, waiting for her brain to function properly again. Meanwhile Clark stared silently down at her, his hair falling over the handsome contours of his face, seemingly holding his breath for dear life.   
  
"Say something Chloe." He pleaded, his blue orbs shifting to meet her eyes at last.   
  
Chloe blinked some more, willing her mouth to start moving again. What could she possibly say to make this any less awkward and horrible and confusing than it already was? Clark Kent was standing there, professing his sort of feelings for her, which wasn't a miracle in itself, except for the fact that he was going out with the girl he had had a crush on since puberty, and now that said girl was Chloe's friend and probably would never speak to her again if she ever found out about this.   
  
But that wasn't the problem. She could stand the confusing and the perverseness, but not the absolute horror that his words held for her. Because despite feeling bad for Lana, or confused about Lex, the most horrible thing about all this was that Chloe secretly enjoyed it. 

It was true. She secretly revelled in the thought that the prettiest girl in town might not always get the gorgeous hunk, because sometimes, the smart and sassy best friend was also attractive in her crazy, wacky way.   
  
She revelled in the thought that sometimes the laws of nature could be turned, and even though Chloe was Lana's friend, she liked it. Which just led her to the single undeniable conclusion that she was a horrible, mean person, not to mention the crappiest friend on the face of the planet. Maybe even the entire universe, including all those alternate dimensions where Chloe wasn't the horrible person she was here.  
  
"Chloe ... please say something." Her mind lurched back to the present. Right, concentrate on Clark she thought. She could always self-recriminate later.   
  
"Clark, I don't know what to say." She found her voice at last, surprised that it came out as clear and concise as it did. Maybe she had picked up a few pointers about being cool and calm in the face of emotional onslaught. God knew from where. "How long have you ... felt this way?" Wow. She was actually managing to sound like the voice of reason too.   
  
"I don't know." He mumbled, looking like he was trying to physically dislodge the uncomfortable sensation of betrayal from his shoulders. "I guess I didn't realise I felt this way until yesterday, when I saw you with Lex."   
  
"I see." It all made sense to Chloe now. He had taken Chloe for granted for so long that it had been a jolt to that superjock system of his to discover that another human being, one of his best friends no less, had found her marginally attractive in the feminine sense. Typical alpha male behaviour.   
  
He hurried on. "Don't get me wrong Chloe, this isn't about Lex, or wanting what I can't have ..."   
  
"Then what is it about?"   
  
He shrugged, sighing heavily as he did so. "I don't know. I just thought ... you should know."   
  
Chloe scowled. "So you could share the guilt?" She asked snippily. She knew she was being hard on Clark, but a part of her just she didn't care. Just when she had sort of gotten her life in order, and was feeling marginally happy with a possible new Lex on the horizon, he had to come up and dump this uber-mess on her. Like she had been jonesing for more Clark-related angst in her life.   
  
"Chloe." Clark protested.   
  
She sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's just," she looked up at him with helpless hazel eyes, "what am I supposed to do about it? You know how I felt about you ... before. But you're with Lana now and strange as this sounds, I kind of like being her friend."   
  
He had the grace to at least look apologetic. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said anything." He smiled sadly. "You're right, I shouldn't have dumped all this on to you. It isn't fair." He paused. "I've got to go." He wheeled around and started walking away.   
  
"Clark." She called after him, feeling inexplicably bad for the tortured puppy dog look on his face.   
  
"It's okay Chloe. I'll deal with it." With that he hurried off, and Chloe was left to stand in the middle of the hall, lost in a sea of her own emotions.

(c) July 2002


	11. Part Eleven

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Eleven ~*~*  


Chloe's good mood had officially been shot to hell.   
  
She wandered aimlessly around the Torch office, unable to concentrate on anything work-related. Her mind couldn't stop whirling and analysing the implications of what Clark had revealed to her that morning. It was just so unreal. Her mind had gone through a thousand permutations of how Clark might theoretically discover his (very well hidden) feelings for her, but this just happened to not have been one of those said permutations. Hence, Chloe was kind of confused.   
  
Scratch that, she was definitely confused. And in turmoil and panicked. Did she also mention that she was confused?  
  
She was telling herself over and over that this wasn't happening. Not now that things had been going marginally well for her.  
  
"Knock, knock." Lana's soft voice echoed in the silence of the office as she entered. "We missed you at lunch today." Lana smiled as she sat down. "Pete was loudly lamenting the fact that he was short one best friend."   
  
"Are you sure he wasn't actually lamenting about his short best friend?" Chloe joked, trying to dispel the gloom of her own mood. "You know I can get kind of annoying at times." She shuffled her hastily notes back and forth in front of her.   
  
"Do you want to go get a coffee?" Chloe abruptly said.   
  
Lana's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered. "Okay." She looked at the messy state of Chloe's desk, notes and journals opened and tagged haphazardly everywhere. "But don't you have work to do?"   
  
Chloe waved her protest away. "I can't really work right now."   
  
Immediately Lana's face transformed into one of concern. "Is everything okay?"   
  
Chloe bit her lip. This was definitely something she couldn't tell Lana. Insanely jealous as she was of Lana's beauty and popularity, she nevertheless knew that there was a genuinely nice girl lurking underneath that glamour and beauty. Chloe liked to think that she was a better person than that.   
  
"I'm just down ... generally. That's all." She quickly put her coat on, a bizarre fur covered creation she had picked up on a rare shopping trip at Metropolis a few months before. "Okay, I'm ready."   
  
As Chloe shut the door behind her, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was doing something horrible to Lana by the mere fact of breathing and being her friend.   
  
***  
  
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Lana asked as she settled onto the soft, lumpy confines of the couch at the Talon. She looked curiously at Chloe, reaching for her iced coffee on the table in front of her.   
  
"What makes you think I wanted to talk about anything?" Chloe asked, aware that she wasn't doing a very good job of feigning ignorance. These were the times that made her wish that she could lie at the drop of a hat. The ability would be useful as a reporter and god knew that it would have been useful now.  
  
Lana threw her a look that clearly agreed with Chloe's assessment of herself.   
  
Chloe sighed, putting down her coffee. "Do you ever think it's weird that we're friends?"   
  
"Weird?" Lana asked, completely puzzled.   
  
"Yeah." Chloe didn't know where exactly she was going with this. "You know, we kind of have - I mean, we had, the whole Clark thing to deal with. Normal people wouldn't have ... dealt."   
  
Lana smiled impishly. "What makes you think we're normal?"   
  
"Well, given that we're currently living in the meteor capital of America, you're probably right." Chloe dropped her gaze. "But I mean - after the whole me blowing my top at Clark thing. You didn't have to be my friend."   
  
"I didn't -"  
  
"Come on Lana, we both know that you tried _way _too hard to stay friends with me. Don't get me wrong," Chloe hurried on, "I'm eternally grateful for it - you had no idea how much I needed someone to talk to, but ... why did you try so hard?"   
  
Lana seemed to ponder her question carefully before she spoke. "I guess ... true friends are few and far between. And I didn't want to lose a good friend over a boy, even if it was Clark." A gentle smile graced her face, and Chloe could almost see the halo forming around Lana's head. Did the girl have to be so damn nice and sincere, and - nice?  
  
She made Chloe feel like the devil incarnate, that was, if the devil was a short blonde chick with runaway hair and a modicum of funky taste in clothes.  
  
Chloe swallowed down the bile of guilt that rose up from her insides.   
  
"What's with the twenty/twenty?" Lana asked, her curiosity peaking by the moment. "What's this about Chloe?"   
  
Chloe shrugged her shoulders casually, hoping to throw off Lana's suspicions - whatever they may be. It wasn't until this moment that Chloe realised what a truly nice person Lana was, and what a good friend she had been to Chloe. And now, knowing what Chloe knew about Clark's feelings for her, she felt - and she couldn't emphasise this enough - really awful.  
  
Really, really awful.  
  
"I guess I've always just wondered. You know, I wouldn't have done what you did in your place."   
  
Lana smiled, twisting Chloe's insides into knots of self-loathing. "I'm sure you would've done the same thing in my place." She leaned back as she took another sip of her iced coffee, her lustrous hair cascading like a perfectly groomed waterfall over her shoulders. She still looked confused at Chloe's train of thought. 

Lana brows knotted in confusion. "Did something happen between you and Clark?" She asked instinctively.

If Chloe had had the ability to leap out of the chair and zoom away at hyper speed, there would have been a Chloe-sized shape through the window right about now. As things stood however, Chloe was still Chloe which meant that she had to confront Lana's accurate perception head on and lie as best she could.

"No." She swallowed, hating the way her voice squeaked in confusion. There was that not being able to lie to her friends thing again. "Nothing to do ... with him. No Clark confusion whatsoever." She nodded and smiled wanly at Lana, who was giving her a strange look. 

Either Lana was preoccupied with her own thoughts or Chloe had credited her with too much perception. Whatever was the case Chloe was relieved when Lana decided to drop the topic. 

Instead her frown deepened. She pursed her lips as she said, "Clark disappears a lot, doesn't he?" At Chloe's confusion, she elaborated, "You've noticed it, right? One minute you're doing something with him, the next he says he's got to go." 

"But Clark's always been like that. He goes off once in a while to do his ... Clark thing." 

"I guess it's a little more noticeable now that we're going out." She gave a small, nervous chuckle. "It's strange. We spend so much time together, and we know each other so well that I would've thought there wouldn't be that much mystery about him. But there is ... mystery I mean. I can't help feeling that there's something about him that he won't ever tell me. I'm scared that no matter how long we know each other or how much I love him, he won't ever tell me. I hate thinking that there's always going to be something about Clark I'll never know." A single tear coursed down the delicate contours of her face. "Most of the time we're so connected, and that's what makes me so ..." 

Chloe stretched out and placed a comforting hand on Lana's shoulder as she looked on in compassionate silence. Lana just looked so forlorn and lost and sad. A million miles from the happy, popular image that she regularly portrayed to outsiders. "I thought being paranoid was my deal." Chloe joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

It brought a tiny laugh from Lana, as she hurriedly wiped away her tears. "I sound like a wet blanket, don't I?" 

Chloe shook her head in sympathy. "No. You're being normal. Clark _does _disappear - a lot - and gets mixed up in a bunch of crazy stuff with no sane person reason for it. It's weird, it's almost like ... he's got a secret identity or something." She reached out and handed Lana a Kleenex. "Have you tried talking to him about it?" 

She nodded mutely. 

"And let me guess," Chloe continued, "he says 'I can't tell you what's going on at the moment, but trust me when I say it's important'. And then he runs off." 

Lana gave a small laugh at Chloe's attempted impersonation of Clark. "More or less." She looked hard at Chloe, as if struggling with some inner decision. Staring straight into her eyes, Lana said sombrely, "I'm also pretty sure he still has feelings for you." 

And for the umpteenth time that day, Chloe wondered what she had done wrong in her previous life to deserve so much guilt in the space of one day. 

(c) July 2002


	12. Part Twelve

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twelve ~*~*

"Whoa." Pete sat down quickly onto the edge of his bed. "Back up the Chloe express for a minute. Did I just hear you say what I thought I heard you say?"   
  
"Yes." She waved her arms around her, continuing to rant incoherently.   
  
"So Clark told you that he still kinda has a thing for you?" Chloe nodded vehemently. "And then _Lana _told you that Clark still kinda has a thing for you?" Chloe nodded again, sure that her head was about to drop off from the sheer force that she was investing in moving it up and down. "On the same day?" He finished incredulously.  
  
"Yes!" She expelled a breath in exasperation. She had already told the entire story to Pete twice, so there was really no need for him to exposition it back to her. He seemed to have forgotten the tiny but important detail that she had actually just lived through it.   
  
Pete couldn't resist a laugh. "Man your life must be a trip."  
  
Chloe threw a hastily grabbed pillow at his face. "Don't make fun of me in my hour of need. I came to you as my only remaining sane best friend and I expect some quality counselling." She slumped to the floor, her back to Pete's bed as she crossed her arms petulantly. "So counsel me already."   
  
Pete's eyes softened as he slid down to join her on the floor. "Sorry Chloe. It's just _insane_."   
  
"I already got that newsflash." She sighed somewhat melodramatically. She was taking out her agitation on Pete which wasn't being really fair to him. It was bad enough that she was already dumping all of her mind-bending Clark-related crap onto him. Now she was actually asking him to make her feel better which granted, he usually could because Pete was Pete - he was nice, easy going, friendly, non-judgemental and totally bitchable to. Which was so what Chloe needed at the moment. "Has Clark said anything to you about this?"   
  
He shook his head in wonder. "Your surprise was as good as mine."   
  
"What am I going to do Pete?" She stared off into space, waiting impatiently for the words of unique advice that she could only get from him. Which didn't seem to really be flowing at the moment. "Pete? Counselling friend in pain, remember?"   
  
"Oh - sorry." He shook his head as if trying to shake off a daze. Finally he turned to her, his face serious. "Well, how do _you_ feel about this?"  
  
"What - what do you mean?" Chloe asked uncertainly.   
  
"You know." Pete gestured wildly, "Don't tell me you haven't been secretly hoping this would happen. Sassy blonde reporter likes good looking best friend. Best friend likes unattainable girl next door, who promptly becomes attainable, only to discover that best friend actually likes said sassy blonde reporter. They live happily ever after. It's what all great romances are made out of."   
  
Chloe screwed up her face in distaste. "I think you're actually mistaking me for someone who considers trashy romance novels quality reading."   
  
"Okay, so that came out a bit strong. But admit it Chloe, this is the stuff your dreams are made out of. You and Clark had the Thing last year and if he hadn't run out on you, you two would probably be macking even now." Chloe's eyes widened at his straightforwardness. "The question is - what are you going to do about it?"   
  
She bit her lip thoughtfully. Finally she said, "I don't know."   
  
"You don't know?" He asked, somewhat sceptical. "Your dream comes knocking on your door, saying exactly what you wanted him to say and you don't know what you want to do about it?"  
  
"I don't know, okay? Last time I checked, indecision wasn't a capital crime." She huffed in defence.   
  
"So maybe ... it isn't what you really want any more." Pete thoughtfully concluded, as if he had known what she had really felt all along but had carefully prodded it out of her. Through her annoyance, she had to admit that he would probably make a very good counsellor - or even a very good lawyer. He had effectively manipulated her into saying what she hadn't wanted to say aloud, because that meant that she would have to confront her conflicting feelings.  
  
"I know what you're doing."   
  
"Did it work?" He asked mischievously, his brown eyes twinkling.  
  
His infectious grin lifted her mood, and she was forced to smile almost against her will. "Yes." She sighed. "Although I still don't know what I'm going to do."   
  
"Take my advice Chloe, don't do anything." Off the surprise clearly written on her face, he elaborated, "this is between Clark and Lana. They're having their issues, that's all. The best thing you could do is to stay out of it and let them work it out for themselves."   
  
Chloe nodded. It was always a scary, scary thing when Pete Ross made complete and utter sense. 

(c) August 2002


	13. Part Thirteen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirteen ~*~*

  
Chloe yawned, wiggling her toes under her comforter as she enjoyed the delightfully relaxing feel of her soft bed after a long, hot shower. All the anxiety she had been feeling about a certain raven haired couple had been drained out of her along with the scorchingly hot shower she had just taken.  
  
Pete had been right, although she would probably go to her grave before annexing that little addendum to his already large ego. Chloe should just butt out of business that didn't concern her, although technically it actually did. If Clark or Lana came to her to talk, then she would talk. Until then she should just sit tight and worry about her upcoming job interview in Metropolis.   
  
Thinking about Metropolis inevitably led to thinking about a certain bald though devilishly handsome individual, so she quickly powered up her notebook and tried to forget her current train of thought. He hadn't called all week because granted, he was the head of a fertiliser plant and probably had a ton of actual non-school work to do, but still - Chloe promised herself she wouldn't think about it. So she didn't.   
  
"Chloe." Her dad called, his voice strangely perturbed. "You have a visitor."   
  
Chloe frowned. While it may have been late for Clark or Pete to call, Lana had sometimes dropped by after closing up at the Talon for a quick chat. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to her dad.   
  
She caught her fleeting reflection in the mirror as she ran past it, unconcerned about the fact that she was currently dressed for bed. Her friends had seen her in her tatty Wonder Woman pyjamas before and if she looked a little tired, who was going to notice? It wasn't as if Chloe was going to win any beauty contests _ever_.   
  
Her casual attitude came around to bite her in the ass big time a moment later, because standing in the middle of the pathetic excuse for a foyer in her house was - she gulped - Lex Luthor.   
  
Chloe swallowed down the urgent need to run out of the house and drown herself in the nearest pond. The utter perverseness of Life she had previously ranted about had guaranteed that while she was dressed in the worst possible outfit for a meeting with Lex, he was dressed in a stylish ensemble of grey on black - black fitted pants, grey shirt and black leather duster. 

Maybe she shouldn't have given Life such a harsh review. The universe seemed to be making a concerted effort to make her the biggest laughing stock in the history of woman kind.  
  
"Lex." She gulped in surprise, trying desperately to maintain some tiny shred of dignity. "What are you doing here?"  
  
He smiled infuriatingly, clearly enjoying her discomfort. "I was in the neighbourhood. Thought I might drop by and see you about Metropolis." His eyes roved slowly up and down the length of her body, taking in her tattered ensemble. "Sorry if it's a bit late, I didn't know you went to bed so early."   
  
Chloe was incensed at herself for feeling so insignificant, and incensed at him for making her feel so small. Did he have to time everything perfectly so that he could maximise her humiliation? First he had seen her in her crappiest working outfit ever, covered in mud no less - and now this?   
  
"_You_ were in the neighbourhood?" She asked derisively, not even bothering to hide her disbelief. "You could've just called. You know, use the scary handset thing I like to call a _phone_."   
  
He smirked, ignoring her jibe. Chloe had the uncomfortable sensation that he was meditating on the significance of Wonder Woman to her not so hidden journalistic ambitions. Either that, or he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing at her immaturity.   
  
She scratched her shoulder, irritated by the intensity of his gaze.   
  
"Chloe." Her dad said in the background. Chloe had forgotten that her father was still standing there, disapproval and awkwardness clearly written on his face. She guessed she should have realised the out-of-this-world awkwardness of the situation. Add to that the fact that she had just insulted his boss. Big whoops. "I ah -" he hastily glanced at Lex as he made to retreat, "don't go to bed too late sweetie."   
  
"Don't worry Dad." To Lex, she said much more forcefully, "We'll talk outside."  
  
She glared at him, hoping that the uncontrolled fury in her steely gaze would prompt him to do something foolish or silly or stupid, so she could feel slightly better about herself by comparison. Instead, he remained infuriatingly calm and controlled. It was all Chloe could do to not claw his eyes out.   
  
Finally she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Okay, so you're here. You've seen my," she looked down at her pyjamas, rolling her eyes in derision, "my unique bed wear. You've probably had a good inner laugh about it, so I'd appreciate it if you just come out and say what you want to say so I could go inside and feel humiliated in the comfort of my own room."   
  
He laughed, warmth diffusing over his entire face. "I didn't know you liked Wonder Woman."   
  
She was determined to ignore the hilarity in his voice. "What was so important you had to say to me to involve you coming all the way out here, out of the comfort of your ancestral _mansion_, and talk to me on my front lawn?"   
  
His brows creased in amusement at her obvious discomfort. "You know, I'm a fan of Wonder Woman myself." Chloe crossed her arms when he seemed determined to continue. "She's strong and sassy. I kind of find that sexy in a woman."   
  
Chloe blinked, clearly thrown. He continued, "Of course, she _is_ brunette, while I've always been partial to blondes." Chloe swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. This was ridiculous. She actually wanted to squirm away from the intense vibe that she was getting from him now.   
  
Think of her dad, she chanted to herself. He who was probably hiding indiscreetly just behind the door, listening in on their conversation and oh my god, did Lex actually say what he had just said to her?   
  
Chloe cleared her throat. "Really?"   
  
Lex smiled hungrily in response.   
  
Chloe bit her lip, trying to swallow down the rising tide of excitement that was building up within her. Every fibre of her being was alive as tension knotted her muscles into an increasingly taut ball of anticipation. She had to remind herself again that she was standing outside on her front lawn in her tattered pyjamas, just to keep her heart from imploding with excitement.   
  
Calm down Chloe, she chided herself. For all she knew, this was the way Lex talked to every girl he came across. No wonder Clark had warned her against him - he was right. Lex was dangerous and flirty and skilled and really very, very sexy.   
  
That jerked her back to reality. She simply could _not_ go around feeling this way about her father's boss.   
  
Lex suddenly shifted gears as he went from flirty to friendly, leaving Chloe to wonder whether she had just imagined the preceding five seconds. "Anyway, the reason I came up here was to ask you when you needed to head to Metropolis. You still need to go, right?"   
  
It took Chloe a moment to adjust to the change in temperature. Did he have to do that? Did he go to some rich elitist school for the criminally flirty that taught him how to tease and taunt a girl, only to leave her quivering with tension in his wake? The nerve of him. She should never speak to him again.  
  
She would make that promise to herself if only she knew that she could keep it, which unfortunately, she knew she couldn't.   
  
"Yeah." She bit her lip. She couldn't believe it - she was actually feeling disappointed that Lex hadn't tried to make a move. Although the still functioning part of Chloe's brain conceded that his non-move may have had something to do with the distinctive Gabe Sullivan shaped shadow lurking behind the window.   
  
"You still need that lift?" He asked charmingly.   
  
"Well, it's on Friday." Chloe hesitated. Did she really want to spend three hours alone in the car with him, given the roller coaster ride of emotions he had just put her through in the last few minutes?   
  
"Good." He started walking towards his car as if the decision had been made. When had she said anything about going with him? "I'll pick you up at 8. Nice and early." He winked at her as he made to leave.   
  
"Hey." She protested, finding her voice at last. "I didn't say I'll go."   
  
He waved her objections away without bothering to turn around, as he got into his car. "8am Chloe."   
  
Chloe was left to scream her objections to thin air as Lex sped quickly away in his shiny black Ferrari.

**__**

Author's Note: Just a quick note to say thanks for all the super cool feedback I've gotten for this story so far! (You guys know who you are) Thanks!

Also, I might not be able to update for the next 1-2 days - blame that crazy stupid thing in my life called work. However I love writing this story, so who knows how fast I can get things done so I can go back to writing it again? ;-D 

(c) August 2002


	14. Part Fourteen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Fourteen ~*~*

Someone banged incessantly on the door.   
  
"Coming." Chloe called, glancing at the clock and grabbing a piece of toast from the plate in front of her. She hurriedly putting her coat on and cursed loudly. What kind of a person was Lex Luthor, to actually be alive and well at 8 o'clock in the morning? As well as being rich, smart and charming, he had to be punctual as well. Either that, or he was a real morning person.   
  
Which made her wince in even more discomfort. Unfortunately for Chloe, she was definitely not of the morning person variety - quite the opposite. She could pull an all-nighter at the drop of a hat, or an all-night coffee brewing mega cram session for finals, but if someone asked her to get up early out of her own free will, it simply would never happen - the her actually getting up part that was.   
  
She was of course, only doing this because of her career ambitions. Anything less and Chloe would be fast asleep in her bed even now.   
  
Grabbing her keys off the table, she opened the door to find Lex waiting impatiently outside, his slim frame leaning casually against the side of her house. "Do you always take this long to answer the door? Or am I just special?" He smiled crookedly as he led her to his waiting black Ferrari.

  
"Sorry." Chloe apologised sheepishly, hoping he wasn't too annoyed at her. She couldn't really tell. She was kinda slow on the uptake without actual caffeine in her system, one of the hazards of being a coffee-dependent creature of the night like she was.  
  
"That's okay. I figured you weren't really a morning person."   
  
Chloe stopped in her tracks. "How did you figure that?" She asked him curiously. Never the mind the bizarre concept of Lex actually thinking about her at all.   
  
He shrugged casually. "You drink so much coffee that frankly, I'm surprised you can even get to sleep at all." He grinned at her as he unlocked the car. "Get in."   
  
Chloe clambered into the car, mindful of the relatively low roof as she hauled her shoulder bag in after her. She sank gratefully onto the soft leathery comfort of the seat.   
  
Lex keyed the ignition and the engine roared to life.   
  
Chloe stretched out her aching muscles and yawned loudly as they sped away from her house, making Lex chuckle. "Are you always so cheery in the morning?" He asked as sarcasm dripped off his voice.   
  
She shrugged, wiggling her fingers in an attempt to wake herself up at the microscopic level. Her personal theory was that if she woke herself up progressively, starting from the smaller parts of her body (like her fingers and toes) and worked her way up, her brain might eventually be able to achieve full functionality - maybe even before midday.  
  
"You know," she spoke up, stifling a yawn in the process, "in case I get too stressed out today and forget to thank you - thank you." She smiled through bleary eyes. "It was nice of you to give me a ride and everything."   
  
"You're welcome." He smiled, his eyes twinkling in the morning sun light as they sped through the town. "Your father didn't try to talk you out of it?" He asked curiously. 

Chloe chuckled. "You know my dad." She turned towards him impishly. "We came to an agreement."

"What kind of an agreement?" He asked, clearly intrigued. 

She waved his question away airily. "Oh, you know. The standard. No sex, drugs or rock and roll." She laughed suddenly at his startled reaction as she clarified. "I just promised not to get home too late, and to get my assignments from Lana on the weekend."

Lex expelled a breath before letting out a quick chortle himself. "Sex and drugs I could have dealt with." He retorted in a tone that was decidedly more Lex-like. "It's the rock and roll that I would have been worried about." 

"Oh yeah?" Chloe asked, eyeing him curiously. "You mean you're not a fan of the rock and roll, Elvis hip swinging thing?" 

"Chloe. I'm 21 - not _201_." He paused at a traffic light. "As a matter of fact, I'm actually a bit of a rock guy myself." 

Chloe couldn't suppress a chortle in surprise. "You? Like rock?" She asked incredulously. 

"Don't look so surprised." Lex said defensively. "Listen." He took one hand off the wheel long enough to press the play button on the CD player. Music blared loudly from the speakers. 

"Okay." Chloe swivelled sideways, training her full attention on to him. "What kind of rock? Area 7 or Creed?" 

Lex frowned, perplexed. "Neither ... I think." 

Chloe rolled her eyes, secretly enjoying the confused look on Lex's face. At last she had found something that he knew absolutely nothing about. He obviously did not have as tight a hold on the pulse of young America as she had previously thought. At least, not the still in puberty portion of young America. The feeling was surprisingly refreshing. "One's alternative and the other's mainstream." She cocked her head to the side, listening carefully to the song that played loudly inside the car. She nodded her head sagely. "As I suspected." 

"What?" Lex stared at her intensely. He seemed to actually want to listen to her opinion, which still surprised Chloe more than she would have admitted. 

"You're more of a mainstream guy." 

"What's the difference?" He shouted over the increasing volume of the music. 

She blithely ignored him. It was definitely fun to hold the upper hand in this instance. "It's funny, I always thought you would have been more into the classical stuff."

"What, like Bach or Tchaikowsky?" 

Chloe's face broke into a rueful smile. "Ah - more like the Beatles or the Bee Gees."

"Oh." If Chloe would have known it as an impossibility, she could have sworn that he was blushing. She silently congratulated herself for at least making him feel less sure of himself than he usually did. 

It was official. She was a horrible, horrible person that did not deserve to sit in this luxuriously appointed car, legitimately staring at the bald head of the richest person in Smallville. 

Did it make any difference that she was one _happy _horrible person, she asked herself silently.

She watched the scenery roll past behind him. They were approaching the central business district of Smallville, if indeed it could actually be called that. She was of course using the turn very loosely.   
  
"Stop." The suddenly urgency of her voice nearly startled Lex enough to swerve.   
  
"What?"   
  
"Sorry." She apologised off the irritated look on his face. "I just saw the Talon. I need to grab a coffee or I'll never wake up. Sorry." She apologised again, prepared to humble herself by extended grovelling as well. That was how important an artificial coffee pick-me-up was to her right now.  
  
He looked irritated and annoyed, but Chloe flattered herself in thinking that he may have also looked indulgent. Indulgent was good. She still needed him to drive her to Metropolis today. "Er - do you want one? A coffee I mean."   
  
"Make it a tall black - extra strong." She raised her brows in surprise. Who knew that Lex was such a hard core coffee drinker like herself? Or maybe he had just decided that he needed some caffeine fortification to deal with her personality. She hoped it was the former.   
  
"You got it." She jumped out of the car and jogged lightly inside.   
  
She emerged a minute later, expertly balancing two Styrofoam cups as she backed out of the door. Expertly that was, until she bumped into Clark and Pete on their way in.   
  
"Chloe." Clark said in a tone that Chloe could have described as delighted surprise, if not for the whole not having fully woken up due to no caffeine thing. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"What's the hurry?" Pete asked. His eyes narrowed as he spied the two cups in her hand. "Who's that for?"   
  
Chloe carefully ignored him. She really didn't want to go into the Lex thing right now. Besides the fact that she hadn't really told anyone about her job interview, in the most probable case of her not getting the job and thereby not having to feel unnecessary humiliation in the eyes of her friends. She hadn't even told Lana - she had only told Lex and her dad.   
  
She turned to Clark. "I just came here to get some coffee."   
  
He nodded dubiously, still clearly puzzled at running into her. She made to leave. "Well, see you at school?"  
  
"Ah ..." Chloe trailed off, glancing surreptitiously at the other side of the street where Lex was parked. "I um, I'm not going to school today." She mumbled.   
  
"Why?" Clark's enormous blue eyes widened in surprise. This was virtually unheard of. While Chloe could be a bit lackadaisical about punctuality, she had never really blown off school before. She was the type of person who took responsibility and commitment very seriously.   
  
Chloe cast her eyes down, staring at her feet in the pavement. She could almost _feel_ the awkwardness creeping up on her, almost tangible in its inevitability. "I ... I need to go to Metropolis today."   
  
"Why?" Pete asked, his curiosity clearly peaked. "What's at Metropolis?"   
  
She chewed on her lip while Clark and Pete looked on, identical frowns on their expectant faces.   
  
A honk came from the other side of the street, and all three turned to spot Lex hanging impatiently outside the window, waving her on. Sudden comprehension dawned on Pete's face. "You're blowing off school to be with Lex?" He asked incredulously, the sense of betrayal making his voice rise in pitch, while Clark looked on, hurt clearly forming on his handsome features.  
  
Chloe rolled her eyes. Pete was nice, but he still had that certain blind spot where Lex was concerned, namely, the blind spot that didn't allow him to conceive of Lex as being anything but an evil corporate magnate in the making. He also apparently had a sense of the melodramatic. "No dork brain." She sighed, wishing that the conversation hadn't taken such a tension-filled turn. "I have an interview at the Metropolis Beagle." Off their blank looks, she continued, "Remember all those applications I was writing during the summer? Well ... I got an interview. It's today."   
  
Clark broke out into an bright smile. No matter what his personal issues were with Chloe, he was first and foremost her friend. He was truly happy for her and his expression showed as much. He knew what this meant to her. "That's great Chloe."   
  
"Yeah." Pete chorused, still glancing murderously in Lex's direction. "Why didn't you tell us earlier?"   
  
Chloe glanced across the street again, noting Lex's increasing impatience. "Hey look guys, I _really_ have to go." She checked her watch as she started backing away. "I'll fill you in on the details when I get back, okay?"   
  
"Promise?" Pete asked, watching thoughtfully as Chloe crossed the street.   
  
"Promise." She shouted back, knowing full well that Pete would be logging calls into her answering machine tonight in order to ascertain what time she got back.   
  
Climbing into Lex's car, she heard Clark shout after her, "Good luck Chloe."  
  
She smiled and waved before she slammed the door, allowing Lex to speed off.  
  
Chloe was silent as they pulled away from the town, allowing the frantic beat of the music to invade her consciousness. She could almost hear Lex's curiosity at what Chloe had talked about with Clark and Pete coming off him in waves. She resolutely kept her silence. If he wanted to know, he would ask her. She certainly wasn't in the habit of forwarding any information that strictly speaking was really none of his business.

Almost as if he had read her mind, he suddenly piped up. "So how did Pete take it?"

"Take what?" She asked, feigning ignorance. 

"Take the fact that you're going to Metropolis with me today. Given his intense hatred of me, I would have thought that he wouldn't have been too happy with that little detail. At least, he didn't look happy." He emphasised. 

"You're really good at making everything about _you_, aren't you?" She bit back, slightly irritated at him for being irritated at Pete. Pete was one of her closest friends, and Lex was - well, whatever he was, and it really irritated her to think that they couldn't get along if the fate of the world depended on it. 

She took a moment to collect herself. "Sorry." She bit her lip. "Anyway, it's not Pete you should be worried about." 

"What do you mean?" 

Chloe hesitated, wondering whether she should disclose to him what Clark had told her a few days before. True to Pete's advice, she had kept herself away from both Clark and Lana, allowing them to deal with whatever issues they were so obviously having. Which didn't mean that Chloe stopped obsessing about it, tossing and turning the simple fact that Clark still might have feelings for her over and over in that confused space of hers that she liked to call her brain. At least, when it was fully functional. 

She was also hesitating because of something else, but she resolutely kept that out of her mind. She was obsessing about it enough as it was. "Ah ..." 

"Come on Chloe, spill it." Lex smiled crookedly, a playful glint in his eyes. 

"Well ..." Her voice wavered with hesitation. She ran a hand through her hair in agitation, before letting them clamp down on her knees. "Clark kinda ... told me he kinda still maybe had some feelings for me." Chloe lifted her eyes to gauge Lex's reaction, but he didn't seem to have one at all. 

Damn his well-trained facial muscles. There must be a school for that somewhere. 

"I see." He said quietly in the sudden silence, as the CD came to an end. 

The silence dragged on while Chloe nervously bit her lip, trying to not wonder what Lex was thinking about right now. He probably wasn't even thinking about anything to do with her. 

"And what did you say?" He suddenly asked, with only a hint of casual curiosity in his voice. 

"Nothing." She cast her eyes down to the floor of the car, suddenly noting the soft feel of the carpet even underneath her boots. Talk about expensive fabric. "I mean, he said he still loved Lana, but he also had 'feelings' for me. What could I say to that?" 

That finally brought a reaction more substantial than a facial twitch from Lex. "The guy you've been pining over the past two years says he's having second thoughts, and you said nothing?" He asked incredulously. "I find that hard to believe." 

"Now you sound like Pete." She said, knowing that the comparison would irk him. "Firstly, I don't _pine. _Secondly, he never said he had 'second thoughts',he said that he had unresolved issues regarding our brief period of what would qualify in bizarro world as dating. Thirdly, is it so hard to believe that I'd be even _slightly _conflicted due to the small but significant fact that Lana is actually my friend, and even though she's gorgeous and smart and has about a million guys waiting on the boyfriend bench, she actually truly likes Clark and I don't want to be the reason she gets hurt." Chloe expelled her pent up breath. 

Lex's brows were raised heavenwards. "Sorry if I touched a nerve. I just thought that this was what you always wanted - Clark giving you a lifeline so to speak." 

Chloe rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Please. Could you make me sound any more melodramatic?" She sighed as she leaned back into the seat. "Besides, I don't even think it's what I really want any more." 

"Really?" Chloe was surprised to hear the genuine astonishment in his voice, not to mention the bizarre fact that she and Lex were actually discussing her social life. "I just thought Clark has always been your Holy Grail. So to speak." He added covering his astonishment. 

"Well, maybe he's not what I really want any more." Her face brightened. "You know, there are more things in this world than Clark Kent." 

His smile widened to mirror hers. "I certainly hope so." He replied quietly, as their eyes met in a blaze of understanding. 

(c) August 2002


	15. Part Fifteen

****

Everything In This World 

By Viv

*~*~ Part Fifteen ~*~*

The countryside continued to speed by as Chloe continued to chat inanely to Lex about anything and everything. After they had gotten through the initial awkwardness, or more accurately, the initial verbal sparring and witty retorts that masqueraded as decent conversation between them, Lex had been a surprisingly pleasant person to talk to. Of course, she made sure to stay away from any topic that would entail more exposition about her feelings for Clark (she didn't know what she felt herself) or business (talk about not understanding a topic). 

"This is great." She half-shouted, as the wind washed over her face and buffeted her hair, the sun warm enough to leave her with a warm glow. "We should do this more often." 

Lex grinned at her indulgently. "Do what?"

"This." She shouted, waving her arms about her wildly. "This whole road trip thing. It's fun." 

Lex smirked. "Three hours isn't a road trip, Chloe." 

"No, it isn't." She said, mocking his smug manner. Not even his worldly attitude could dampen her enthusiasm right now. "I know that every red blooded American's rite of passage involves driving cross country in a slightly beat up car, drinking gallons of illegally purchased alcohol and ingesting copious quantities of junk food. And singing - I think definitely singing involved." She grinned at him, her smile infectious in its vitality. "Hey, maybe we should sing." She suggested.

"Oh, no." Lex protested quickly. "There will be no singing involved, today or any other day." He looked askance at her, trying to keep his amusement at her good mood contained. "How much coffee have you had?"

Chloe decided to ignore him. There will be no dampening of her mood right now. "You can't sing, can you?" She taunted him. "Didn't you get any singing lessons?" 

It was now Lex's turn to roll his eyes. "What makes you think that I even got singing lessons?" 

"Come on." Chloe countered. "You just told me that your dad shipped you off to dancing, fencing and horse riding lessons, and possibly an art appreciation class or two. Don't tell me he neglected the all important singing lessons?" 

Well," he said defensively, "heirs to corporate fortunes generally need to present an impossibly polished facade to the circling piranhas in their wake." He paused, waiting for her laugh of derision to subside. "It isn't all that funny." 

"I know it isn't." She said, before bursting out laughing again.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I happen to be a great singer. You know I'm good at everything." He added impishly. 

"I'll take your word for it." 

"Good." He said, satisfied that he had made a good enough defence. He abruptly changed the subject. "I'll have to take you on a real road trip one day." 

"I'd like that." She said flirtatiously as she closed her eyes to better absorb the wind and the country air that was streaming by her face. She felt so free, so alive, so young and so ridiculously un-Chloe like. And it was all because of Lex Luthor. 

Her face turned abruptly serious. "Why are you doing this Lex?" 

"What?" He asked, seemingly caught out by her sudden change in tone. 

"This." She pointed to the road in front of them. "Driving me to Metropolis, talking to me like you're actually interested in what I'm saying. And don't say you're only doing this because you have to be in Metropolis anyway. It's not you couldn't have flown there in your private jet or something." 

He shook his head as if floored by the quickness of her mind. "That's because I am interested." He said quietly, astutely avoiding her eyes. 

"Why?" 

"For the same reason why I enjoy hanging out with Clark or Lana rather than a bunch of people my own age." He smiled bitterly. "There's no ulterior motive with you guys. You say what you think to me and don't give a damn what my net worth is. Especially you." His eyes softened as he met her gaze. "I need friends like that." 

Chloe nodded, discomfort crawling through her body at the hidden depths of his gaze. There were so many layers to Lex that were just not immediately apparent to the casual observer. To know him Chloe realised, you had to spend a lot of time with him, something that Chloe wouldn't mind doing in future, given the opportunity. 

"Thanks." She found herself strangely touched. 

"You're welcome." He smiled guilelessly at her, before his expression closed up again to one of arrogant charm. "Not to mention the fact that you're interesting in your own right." 

Chloe was incensed at herself for blushing so furiously. "Oh - uh huh?"

"Yeah," he continued, oblivious to her reddening face, "you're your own person. You do what you want to do, and damn what everyone else is thinking. You're smart and talented, and determined to get what you want. I can relate to that." He smiled roguishly at her. 

"You really know how to make a girl feel appreciated, don't you?" Chloe asked half-jokingly. Talk about a smooth operator - he was one well oiled flirting machine. 

An indecipherable smile was all the reply that she received from Lex as the car sped on towards Metropolis. 

(c) August 2002


	16. Part Sixteen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Sixteen ~*~*

"When did you say your interview was again?" Lex asked curiously. 

They were finally at Metropolis - the shining beacon of hope in Chloe's eyes, at least as far as her ambition to become a reporter was concerned. The skyscrapers looked tall and pristine in the late morning sunlight as her eyes travelled up, taking in the polished glass facades rolling past her at a comfortable pace. Vendors stood on the side walk selling hot dogs, and newspaper stands were littered about at comfortable distances to office buildings. Here and there patches of green caught her eyes as Lex drove past various parks and recreational areas, which were still heavily populated despite the time of day. 

Chloe sighed in appreciation. Home sweet city. She could almost smell the frenzied pace of this vast city that she had once called home. 

She turned to find Lex staring quizzically at her. 

"What?" She asked. 

"Nothing." He replied as his attention returned to the road. "I asked you when your interview was about five minutes ago." 

"Sorry." She apologised sheepishly, rummaging through her bag to dig out the letter that had come from the Metropolis Beagle the week before. She quickly scanned its contents, the words that she had probably read a few thousand times before. "It's at 2." Her heart gave a little nervous leap as she tucked the letter safely away again. "When do you have to do ... whatever it was you had to do?" 

Lex grinned, obviously enjoying her naive enthusiasm. "Meeting with my dad's drones. Shouldn't take more than ... a few minutes." He estimated casually. "Of course, the subsequent interrogation by my father is likely to take a little longer." 

Chloe looked sharply at him, scrutinising his deliberate expression. "Do you always talk about your dad that way?" 

"What do you mean?" Lex asked in a deliberately off-hand manner. 

"You know." Chloe decided to employ her reporter-in-training skills. After all, if she was going to become a good reporter, she might as well start honing her skills now. "You always talk about him like he doesn't mean anything to you." 

Lex smiled enigmatically, keeping his eyes pealed to the road ahead of them. "Maybe he doesn't. Or maybe I don't mean anything to him." 

Chloe was appalled. "Do you really think that?" 

"I'm not sure." He shrugged, and while he was careful to conceal his pain at those thoughts, Chloe saw the tension in his shoulders and the tautness of his jaw. "I try not to think about it too much." 

There was nothing much that Chloe could say to that. She could have offered simple words of consolation, but that would have been lying and that was totally not her style. It _was _bad. To not even be sure about whether you meant anything to your father - Chloe simply couldn't fathom what that would feel like. Her dad could get stubborn and clingy at times, giving her the third degree about where she was going and what she was doing with her time outside of school, but she knew that was only because he cared about her so much. 

What must it be like for Lex, she wondered, to have to make an appointment to see his own father? Pity rose up inside her which she valiantly tried to conceal. She could just imagine his reaction if he knew that a high school girl was feeling _pity _for Lex Luthor. 

"Don't feel too bad." He said, startling Chloe so much that she almost jumped out of her skin even if it was physically possible. Could he read her mind or something? "I've got more money than I can spend, more people than I can count to do my bidding and best of all - I've got great friends. I can't complain." He grinned roguishly. 

His smile was infectious. "I'm glad." 

"Since your interview isn't until 2, what say we drop by my apartment, freshen up and have some lunch? Then I could drive you to your interview, go to my meeting and hopefully if all goes according to plan, I could pick you up afterward. Save you the walk." 

Chloe was completely taken by surprise. Even the wacky mind that had spawned the Wall of Weird was taken completely unprepared by Lex's generosity and his attention to such small details. It touched her to think that he had thought about her enough to be so solicitous of her comfort. It also made her somewhat uncomfortable. "That'd be great." 

Chloe sank back onto her seat, enjoying the soft leathery comfort against her skin.   
  
Lex soon pulled up to the front of an impressive looking building, the polished facade and newly refurbished art-deco ornaments imposing in its style and grandeur. It seemed to be an eclectic yet elegant mix of the old and the new, as if proclaiming itself the residence of Metropolis' social elites, the home of business tycoons and socialites. Chloe couldn't help staring at it in wonder. The cynical part of her noted that it was the bastion of social repression, capitalist greed and elitist sentimentality, but the still-naive part of her was sufficiently impressed by its elegance and style to be awed by its impressive magnificence. Of course, it also helped that it was probably the tallest building in Metropolis.   
  
Chloe had often passed buildings like this when she had been living in the city, but she had never paused to take in their magnificence. It had never occurred to her to do so largely because of the tiny logical assumption that she probably would never have discovered what lay behind such buildings. Never that was, before she had known Lex.   
  
Lex coughed politely, interrupting her gawking. "It's all right, the valet will take care of it for us."   
  
Marginally embarrassed that she had to be told to get out of the car, Chloe blushed and quickly hoisted her bag over her shoulder and got out. A cool breeze greeted her as she made her way to the entrance of the building behind Lex.   
  
The doorman nodded politely to Lex as he let them in, leaving Chloe with the distinct impression that she had just entered Lex-land - the land where Lex Luthor was the king of everybody, except for Luthor the Senior and God.   
  
"And how are you today Charlie?" Lex asked as they walked past, motioning for Chloe to proceed first.   
  
"Fine thanks Mr Luthor. How about you?" The youthful looking man actually seemed giddy at the thought of Lex knowing his name.   
  
Lex smiled charmingly. "Couldn't be better." Lex steered her past the double doors and through the lobby. Chloe was glad he was there to propel her along; she felt sure that left to her own devices, she would have kissed her cynical, sassy image goodbye by spending an embarrassing amount of time just gawking at the marble floor and the obnoxiously opulent grandeur around her. And this was only the foyer.   
  
She had obviously left her cynicism somewhere inside the murky confines of her room, because she was officially in awe of this place. Evil capitalist bastion and all.   
  
"So you like the place?" Lex smirked at her still open astonishment at the decor of the building. Chloe knew that to him, this was _normal_. She began to truly appreciate just how different the world that he grew up in was to hers, and to every other normal person on the face of the developed world.   
  
"Yeah." She said airily, even though her behaviour suggested otherwise. "It's ah, nice."   
  
He chuckled at her understatement as they got into the elevator. Lex took out his security card, swiped it and punched the button for the top floor. Chloe's eyes widened in further astonishment, although in retrospect a few seconds later, she didn't know why. The Luthors were one of the richest families in America; it made sense that they would have secured the Penthouse of one of the most exclusive buildings in Metropolis. Chloe gulped inwardly. As tough and as cynical as she was, it was only now that she began to appreciate just how much power and prestige Lex Luthor had in the big wide world outside Smallville.   
  
Had she just repeatedly insulted him in the car that morning?   
  
Get a grip Chloe, she chastised herself. She was working herself into a state that could only be described in the confused confines of her mind as escalating madness. Lex was rich beyond belief, powerful and self-assured and probably a thousand other very powerful adjectives that she couldn't be bothered to dredge out of her mind at the moment. But he was still a person, and right now, she would probably even call him a friend. And as a friend, he was entitled to the full range of Chloe behaviour, because she was Chloe, kind of irreverent and quirky and as she liked to think, witty. And maybe also straightforward and sincere, and honest. In short, she should treat him like any other friend.   
  
"Wow." She breathed, as the doors opened to reveal - and she couldn't emphasise this enough - the biggest apartment she had ever seen. Open delight registered on her face as Chloe took in her surroundings.   
  
Actually, 'apartment' was probably a criminal understatement in describing this opulent magnificence around her. The luxurious appointment of the decor approached more of the 'palatial abode' class, if not for the fact that Lex's penthouse was located on top of a building and not on grounds that would have been given its own zip code. Double marble staircases wound their way up on each side of the room while gold sconces lined the walls on either side of her. Bright sunlight streamed in through the ceiling as Chloe craned her neck up to see a magnificent dome of frosted glass; the rich billionaire version of a skylight. Beyond the tastefully decorated foyer, Chloe glimpsed several closed doors and incredibly, two corridors stretching almost into infinity.  
  
Chloe blinked incredulously. The apartment was opulent, grand and self-indulgent. It actually reminded her of Lex.   
  
Finally she recovered her senses enough to remark dryly, "So restraint isn't really in your vocabulary huh?"   
  
Lex laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not really like all this." He gestured to the apartment almost lazily. "It's partly for appearances. When I entertain Metropolis society at a tastefully exclusive cocktail party, this is what they see. It makes them suitably intimidated."   
  
"I get that." She said faintly. She seemed to be indulging in a few understatements this morning.   
  
He ushered her still stunned presence onward. "Would you like a tour?" She nodded mutely as he began showing her around.   
  
Lex's palatial apartment (this is how she would be referring to it hereafter in the stunned silences of her mind) was on a scale north of what Chloe would call a very large house. In fact, she was sure that her house, Clark's and Lana's could fit into the apartment with some (maybe several) rooms to spare. Surely this was just a little excessive, even for obscenely rich people standards?   
  
She gathered that as much when he informed her that the standard apartment in the building was only about a quarter of the floor, while his apartment took up two whole floors.   
  
"Oh, er - right." Chloe nodded slightly, like she could really a comprehend vastness of riches on that scale. The apartment she had grown up in was minuscule in comparison, so she stopped trying to compare it. She was just going to breathe and smile. That was what she was going to concentrate on at the moment. She would leave girlish exclamations when she was back in her comfort zone, a little place she liked to call the real world.   
  
They continued. He showed her the kitchen, an industrial monstrosity of black granite, dark mahogany and silver that resembled something which would normally only be found in an extremely well-equipped restaurant; the bathroom, which looked pleasant and airy enough to Chloe that she wouldn't mind actually _living_ in there; the main living area, which contained  
several works of art which Chloe felt sure would be worth more than her entire house; and a myriad of other rooms that even Lex didn't know what they were used for.   
  
They walked upstairs and turned right into an open area that she loosely called a landing. Try as she might, there was no other way for Chloe to describe it. She seemed to have lost her descriptive edge, blunted by the unmitigated lavishness of everything around her. It was kind of like being in Disneyland, except without the Disney characters and the constant parades and floats.   
  
They walked on, past a sumptuously appointed room with yet more works of art, priceless treasures and strange things made of glass and therefore extremely breakable. Finally they reached a set of closed double doors of dark mahogany. "And, " Lex smiled, taking in the slightly dazed look in Chloe's eyes, " ... this is my sanctuary."   
  
It seemed to be a suite of rooms. Chloe stepped through the doors, trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling that Lex was gauging her reaction to something. She noticed immediately that the feel of the suite was completely different to the feel of the rest of the apartment. Instead of the cold, haughty disdain that the rest of the apartment projected to its onlooker, the suite seemed like it strained to please, with its rich, warm hues, rugs and its generally muted style. To Chloe, it seemed more real, maybe due to the fact that it looked more lived in than the rest of the apartment.   
  
Newspapers and magazines were scattered over all over the glass coffee table, but that was the only discernible mess that she could see. A giant flat screen plasma TV stood at one end of the room, flanked by four enormous floor to ceiling speakers and a very impressive looking stereo system, along with enough electronic equipment to make any red blooded American proud. Short of the non-mess, it looked like a bachelor pad - albeit an extremely well-equipped one. 

"This is where you really live?" She guessed, though she retained enough of her reporter's instincts to know that she was right.   
  
"It's less ... obnoxious than the rest of the apartment." Chloe nodded vehemently in agreement. Lex looked around. "Well, that's the end of the grand tour. Hungry?"   
  
Chloe nodded decisively. "At the risk of making myself sound like a pig - hell yes."   
  
"How about pizza? I know a great place about a block from here."   
  
"Cool." Chloe looked down at her comfortably fitting jeans, white t-shirt and slightly zany black and green stripped jacket and sighed ruefully. "Just - I need to get changed first. I can't wear this to the interview."   
  
Lex raised his brows that told her that he plainly agreed with her. "I wasn't going to say anything."   
  
Giving him a murderous glance of reproof, she followed his directions to the nearest bathroom. Less opulent than the one downstairs, possibly due to the lack of discernible marble, it still managed to take Chloe's breath away. Which she reflected was still pretty wacky - had Chloe turned into a country bumpkin enough to have her breath taken away by the mere sight of a bathroom?   
  
Lex openly stared at her in amazement when she came out again, his arms crossed over his chest. "Chloe Sullivan, you look like a real professional. I might even be tempted to do business with you."   
  
"Er, thanks. I think." She mentally shook her head at the suggestive lilt to his voice. There was one and a half hours left until her interview; it would probably be a good idea for her to shake all thoughts of Lex doing business with her out of her head until _after_ the interview. The images that immediately popped into her head at that thought made her feel several lifetimes' worth of embarrassment.   
  
"There isn't anything wrong with this picture is there? I mean, anything that screams 'don't hire me, I'm a freak'?" Chloe looked down at the her one and only outfit that had been suitable for an occasion such as this - a black pants suit that she had purchased on one of her rare shopping expeditions to Metropolis. 

She had thoughtfully teamed it with a blood red shirt - thoughtful in that she had spent a better part of a week deciding on the outfit - and a pair of marginally high pumps that didn't threaten to set off the over-50 alarm and which allowed her to not tip over from her giddy new height. 

It was at times like these that she realised that an actual live-in mother would have been a huge help; as it was, she had to rely entirely on her dad, who wasn't exactly a stylish trail blazer in the world of corporate fashion. Maybe he would have qualified for swanky fertiliser plant manager wear, coming this spring to a fertiliser store near you.   
  
"You look great." Lex said, and Chloe had to admit that he actually sounded genuine. Not that she believed him or anything, since her current neuroses were tensed up to a point where she felt increasingly jumpy and basically, she knew that would start talking really fast soon. Luckily she hadn't had too many cups of coffee to bolster her increasingly nervous energy - another dose would have sent her flying out of Lex's luxuriously appointed apartment, landing on the hard concrete below and bouncing off it like a giant Chloe-balloon. All of which she carefully concealed from Lex, because she definitely did not want to expose him to that particular Chloe character trait just yet.   
  
She almost laughed out loud. She was talking about showing him her traits, as if she was trusting him and he was becoming her friend and wow, was she actually having an entire conversation with herself inside her head?   
  
"You ready to go?" Lex was eyeing her suspiciously and Chloe knew that if he had known what was _actually_ going on inside her head at this point, he would probably have delivered her to the Metropolis Institution for the Mentally Deranged - not that there was such an institution, but Chloe could picture one being set up especially for her by Lex. How sweet.   
  
"Yeah." She said brightly. Even to her own ears, her cheerfulness seemed too turbo-charged. Okay, she was officially nervous as hell now. 

"Relax Chloe, you'll do fine." He laid a reassuring hand over hers, one that threatened to burn her with its scorching warmth. Or maybe that was just Chloe's over-taxed senses working overtime again. She couldn't really tell any more. She was definitely working herself up into one giant ball of tightly checked energy. "Once we get some food into you, you'll feel much better."  
  
"Okay." Chloe agreed, although she had a fleeting mental image of her throwing up the said food. Whoever had said that nervousness was just a pleasant tingly sensation akin to butterflies flying in one's stomach clearly hadn't thought of Chloe's digestive processes.   
  
She noted incidentally that she had also lost her ability to articulate any word that was more than one syllable long. How nice, considering her upcoming interview and all.  
  
Chloe felt a lot better once they had made it outside though. She took deep, calming breaths as a fresh breeze blew over her, a soothing balm to her overreaching senses. After a few more breaths, she felt ready to tackle the difficult task of talking and forming actual coherent sentences.   
  
"Thanks for ... well, not really letting me freak out. I don't know why I'm so nervous." She began, as they walked down the street. Chloe threw a glance at him as he smiled mysteriously at her. He was being suspiciously quiet, and on reflection, that had the effect of unsettling her even more than her upcoming job interview. "I mean, it's not like my entire future as serious journalist depends on this one interview. There'll be plenty of other opportunities for me. I mean, I'm young, I can afford to completely bomb in this interview and totally crash and burn and did you know that I'm not wearing any underwear?"   
  
There was a long pause. Lex roused himself as he realised that he was actually supposed to participate in the conversation. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening." He sighed.   
  
"And?" Chloe looked at the blank expression on his face expectantly. "Why weren't you listening?"   
  
"It wasn't because you were boring me, by the way."   
  
She snorted. "Good to know." She smirked and caught his eye. The obvious gesture made him smile.   
  
He sighed again, a distinctly un-Lex-like sound. "I was just thinking about how I'm going to deal with my father today." Chloe remained silent, prompting him with the sympathy in her eyes. "In many ways, his ... disability has made him more reliant on me, at least in the day to day running of LuthorCorp." The crunching of their footfalls were the only sounds as they walked silently along.   
  
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Chloe asked, although she really didn't have a clue what she was talking about. As enigmatic as Lex was, she had in the last few weeks learned to watch for small signs that gave clues as to what he was really thinking. But now, when it came to his father, she found that he was completely closed off. She quickly realised that his feelings towards his father were probably his most closely guarded secret ... and possibly the reason why he thought it so necessary to protect his real emotions from almost everyone around him.  
  
It made her sad to think of the younger Lex, the one that had grown up weary of his father. The younger Lex that had built up his defences so that he could reach out to his father without getting too hurt when he was inevitably rejected.   
  
"Well it's made him give me more responsibility, something that I don't think he enjoys doing too much." Lex pursed his lips, obviously unwilling to divulge any more information. Chloe was torn between wanting to hug him and keep on prying for more information. She found his layers fascinating, and knowing more about his relationship with his father was just one more layer that she wished she knew about him. Lex was like a very interesting variety of onion, hopefully one that didn't make her cry because Chloe hated onions, although of course that wasn't really the point. "It's such a battle with him, you know?" He cocked his head before suddenly recollecting who he was talking to. "What am I talking about? Of course you don't."   
  
She shook her head sadly. He was right. She had no idea what it had been like for him - what it was like for him now. Once again she found herself counting her lucky stars that her dad was so dad-like.   
  
Chloe had the sudden urge to comfort him - a crazy and wacky idea if ever she had one, the idea of Lex needing any comfort from her, that is. Despite feeling marginally ridiculous about herself, she reached out to him, hoping that she could somehow lift his suddenly flagging spirits up a little with that crazy thing she liked to call the human touch. Or in this case, the Chloe-touch, but without the rising sexual connotations that were travelling at light speed through her head.  
  
Lex smiled sadly as if sensing her sympathy, gently smoothing his hand over hers. He seemed comforted. At least, Chloe hoped it was comfort and not a poorly hidden desire to laugh at her naive tendencies.   
  
Why did being with Lex prompt so many conflicting emotions within her? She felt sad and happy and exhilarated and maternal all at the same time, which was a pretty insane mix of emotions, especially with the intensity she was feeling them right now.   
  
A second later the brief touch was gone. This time, Chloe could almost see the iron mask of neutrality descend over Lex's facade again.   
  
"Here it is." He declared.   
  
Chloe blinked, surprised to realise that they were already there. She guessed that time really flew when she was engrossed in the examination of her extremely rich, mysterious and enigmatic friend slash maybe love interest if not for the whole he's her dad's boss thing.   
  
They were outside a pleasant looking restaurant on the corner of the block. Red awnings hung over the open wooden doors with pot plants and sconces elegantly flanking the double doors along the side. Corporate refugees from the nearby business district were already filling up the modestly sized restaurant.   
  
The outside eating area was paved with cobblestone, while red roses and yellow and white tulips flourished all along the side of the street, making Chloe involuntarily think of European bars, Italian maestros and somewhat bizarrely, of Venetian gondolas despite a lack of discernible waterways. Which was probably not the actual image that the restaurant owners wanted to portray, although knowing Metropolis, she couldn't really be sure. 

All in all, it looked like a traditional Pizzeria, except with a lot more money and possibly with a lot more fauna.  
  
A delicious aroma of freshly baked bread and pizza wafted through to her senses. Her stomach rumbled. Okay, she was officially starving and in desperate need of nourishment.   
  
Lex chuckled. "Hungry I take it?" She blushed for the umpteenth time that day, cursing her unruly and outspoken stomach. The more time she spent with Lex, the more her pretensions and necessary image inflators were being stripped away from her, which she found disconcerting on a very large scale. She felt vulnerable and naked as her own emotional layers were being steadily stripped away and it scared her.   
  
It scared her because even though she knew that Lex was digging deeper into Chloe's very well-fortified inner being, stripping her of all the thousand innate defences that she had rigged to protect herself, she was excited and exhilarated and a thousand other things that were whirling around inside her at the moment. Her mind seemed to suddenly come ablaze at the very thought of Lex wanting to know her better - to know the true Chloe better. Somehow, that made her feel _good_.  
  
Her entire body shook with the realisation. Either that, or she was hungrier than she thought.   
  
In a surprisingly steady voice she said, "When do we eat?" First she would get some food, secondly she would deal with the interview. And then, she would deal with the impending Lex related issues that her mind was only just beginning to accept.   
  
***  
  
"Time?"   
  
"1:15." He reached over the table and placed his hand over her watch, obstructing it from her view.   
  
"Hey." Chloe protested, trying to dislodge his arm. She thought she had seen it tick over to 1:16. "What do you think you're doing?"   
  
"Preserving your sanity." He grinned impishly at her and Chloe had to restrain herself from throwing several freshly baked bread rolls in his direction. "The driver will be here in 15 minutes, and we'll drive you to your interview. Besides," he glanced down at her lazily, "I've never had lunch with a woman whose attention wasn't fully on me."   
  
"Well you learn something new everyday." She grinned cheekily, enjoying her new-found confidence with Lex. There was much to be said for spending an entire morning in the company of a rich, strangely sexy bald guy. "And as fascinating as I find you Lex - I have this little thing that's going to take place in about 44 minutes and 20 seconds and it just happens to rank a little bit higher than enjoying the famous Luthor company. Sorry."   
  
"Your loss." He sipped his wine almost sensually, which almost provoked Chloe to grab the entire bottle of red whatever vintage it was and pour it all over his crisp midnight blue shirt. Did he have to do everything so elegantly, so crisply? She was staring at Lex Luthor's mouth for goodness sakes, and although she could probably get away with blaming her overextended nerves for that little lapse, she wasn't entirely comfortable with her increasing propensity to stare at Lex full stop, for obvious and sane person reasons.  
  
She took a deep breath. She needed to calm down - big time. Her mind was awhirl with suddenly intrusive emotions which was so not the thing she needed 43 minutes and 15 seconds away from the most exciting opportunity of her admittedly young and naive life.   
  
"Time?" She asked deliberately, ignoring the murderously exasperated expression in his eyes. 

(c) August 2002


	17. Part Seventeen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Seventeen ~*~*

Chloe sighed pitifully.   
  
She was standing outside the modest Metropolis Beagle offices, trying to not look like the entire world had crashed around her, cruelly leaving her alive and healthy to endure the worst pain imaginable to human kind.   
  
The pain she was talking about, of course, was the pain of utter and humiliating failure.   
  
She had gone into the interview with such high hopes and high shoes, and now clichéd as it was, her hopes and dreams had all been dashed in one fell swoop. It was true - the carrion bird of badness had swooped on her ambitious desire and outstretched dreams and had snatched it all away because it was a bad, bad bird and that's what it was supposed to do. And she had done nothing to fight off this bad predator of dreams - in fact, she had done the opposite.   
  
Because Chloe could not deny the simple undeniable fact that she had aided the said carrion of disaster in the plundering of her dreams, her hopes and her desires.   
  
She sighed heavily, shifting uncomfortably in her pumps which were now naturally making her feet sore. The injustice of suffering for her foray into high corporate fashion grated harshly on her psyche as she thought bitterly of the interview again, the event swirling obstinately around in  
her mind.   
  
Chloe let her satchel fall to the ground. It contained her portfolio and CV and even that article she had written for the Smallville Ledger last year, but that was going to be useless now. Her life was over now that her dreams had been so cruelly and horribly dashed.   
  
Okay, so maybe she was being _slightly_ melodramatic right now. Maybe not _everything_ good in her life had been snatched away, but for the life of her Chloe just couldn't think of anything left in her life that could be labelled as _good_. There were many 'okay' things, some 'ho hum, chance of good', but nothing that could possibly counterbalance the interview of disastrous proportions that she had just endured.   
  
Even the sun shone too brightly for her taste, making her squint as she tried to read her watch. A middle-aged couple and their faithful Lassie jogged past her on the street, giving her a cheery hello. Normally Chloe would have smiled back, or snarked to herself about how weird the whole friendly neighbour thing was given the fact that she was in Metropolis, snark capital of America, but she was definitely not in the mood right now. The entire world seemed to be too bright and cheery, deliberately underlining her complete and utter suckyness at anything that could possible be construed as a reporting career.   
  
Great. She was now the butt of some cosmic non-joke. Disaster had been so swift to fall on Chloe that FedEx would have been proud to be its official courier.   
  
Lex's car pulled up beside her forlorn figure on the street.   
  
"Chloe." His bright expression fell when he saw her sagging frame and listless countenance. Of course, the tell tale kicking of her bag on the side of the street could also have had something to do with his acute perception. "What happened?"   
  
"I suck, that's what happened." The driver was getting out of the car to open the door for her, but Chloe waved him impatiently away. It wasn't like she had lost all ability to function, and even though she would probably end up flipping fat-drenched burgers at Burger King due to her complete non-ability to behave properly at a job interview, she would like to know that she still retained the ability to open her own doors, complain and snark - the cornerstones of Chloe's universe.   
  
She climbed awkwardly into the car, dragging her stuff in after her petulantly. She slammed the door in the startled driver's face while carefully avoiding Lex's penetrating gaze. She sank back onto the seat and crossed her arms - the universal sign of 'beware homicidal blonde, approach at own risk' to anyone with the passing intention of actually speaking to her.   
  
Lex seemed unfazed by her obvious belligerence. "Okay." He signalled for the driver to take off. "In laymen's terms. What happened?"   
  
"I don't want to talk about it." She huffed childishly. And she wasn't lying either - she really didn't. She didn't want anyone, least of all Lex, to know what a completely incompetent normal person she was, because normal people would have known how to behave at a job interview and would therefore not be in this position, facing the kind but inquiring face of her bald-headed friend slash potential love interest.   
  
"Yes you do." Lex admonished her, sounding for all the world like a parent scolding a child. Which was a completely 'ew' image, considering the staggering amount of impure thoughts that she had had of Lex during the course of this conversation alone.   
  
There - she had admitted it. She had impure thoughts about Lex. Which was totally beside the point at the moment, so she steered her mind clear of that jolting internal realisation to be dealt with at an agreed future time - like never.

"No, I don't." She turned away from him in a fit of pique. 

Unfortunately, Lex was one of those irritating specimens of the human race who viewed non-answers as direct challenges which must be met. "What happened?" He asked more forcefully, probably unaware that he had incidentally placed a semi-comforting hand on her shoulder.

That undid her. Left to her own devices, locked within her shroud of prickly isolation she could have withstood Lex's attempts to unlock her secrets. But his touch? That warm, sensitive touch from those sensitive hands that just happened to send enormous waves of energy to the centre of her being? She didn't stand a chance. 

Her cold facade melted visibly, and she sighed dramatically. "I bombed at the interview, okay?" She fixed her gaze to the streets rolling silently by. She didn't even have the energy to feel mortified and ashamed and a thousand other really lame adjectives, which under normal circumstances she definitely would have been feeling right now, given that it was Lex Luthor sitting next to her who could obviously hold down a job, since he was the head of an actual fertiliser plant. He had probably interviewed a million people in his time at his father's company, and he would be entirely too clear of the sheer volume of stupidity that Chloe must have had in abundance to have bombed so badly. 

"What happened?" His voice softened as she leaned slightly into his touch. Chloe sighed again, suddenly feeling the weight of her predicament on her tiny shoulders. 

His silence compelled her to speak. "Okay, you want the entire story? Lame exposition and absurd dialogue culminating in inevitable tragedy and all?" 

"Will there be any sexual entendre?" He smirked, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
It worked, because a small laugh escaped her despite her black mood.   
  
The smile slowly slid off his face, replaced by a soft serious look that almost pleaded with her to continue. The intensity of his gaze was hypnotic and Chloe would have been the first to admit that she had possibly already fallen under that magnetic Luthor charm of his. His eyes seemed to be swallowing her up by the sheer power he focused through his gaze. "Tell me."  
  
Their eyes locked as Chloe held on to her moment of hesitation, but a micro second later it was gone. In the end, she told him everything, unable to hold anything back while being assaulted by the sheer force of his gaze. It was definitely at times like these that she craved the ability to manipulate truth and lie just that little bit more naturally. If there was a school for that, Chloe would be there, no expenses spared.   
  
"Okay, it started fine - great even. I managed to introduce myself with a modicum of smoothness without tripping over my highly overpriced pumps and smiling in the process. So far, so okay." She looked over at Lex, who nodded encouragingly. "And then they introduced themselves and everything was fine, you know? We were one big happy ... bunch of people." Chloe bounced agitatedly on her seat, before quickly flipping sideways, folding one of her legs under her in order to face Lex more squarely. "Then the questions started which were fine, okay, semi-bad but defensible in the right context, then really great, because they asked about my stance on capitalism in rural America which, let's face it, is basically my reason for living." She paused to take a breath, trying to gauge Lex's perplexed expression. "And then ..." She trailed off, as the basic human unwillingness to make herself look stupid threatened to swallow her resolve to recount the whole sorry tale again.  
  
"And then?" Lex prompted, sensing her hesitation.   
  
"And then ..." She put her head in her hands as she was forced to think about it, the thing that had almost certainly cost her the dream of a summer spent in the heated atmosphere of a real live newsroom. "And then ... Well, we got to talking about what I would be doing as a high school intern which started off pretty normal. You know, serving coffee to bad tempered reporters, running errands for editors and occasionally actually seeing what reporters really do?" Lex nodded animatedly, which Chloe took as permission to press the Chloe express full steam ahead. "And then, this guy, I think he said he was like a sub-editor of current affairs or something, he started asking me about what I thought of the state of the country."   
  
Lex raised his brows expectantly. "So what did you say?"   
  
"And, well - I monologued like I usually do. How we're totally ignoring the plight of the homeless, especially in the overcrowded cities, ignoring human rights issues in other countries, blah blah, we need more food to help relieve famine in the third world - you know, the basic tenets of every rebellious teenager in America? And then," Chloe took a deep breath, "it happened."   
  
"What?" Lex leaned in, so that his face was only scant inches from hers.   
  
Chloe looked down at her hands as they fiddled with the edge of her suit. "He started disagreeing with me. Firstly with the homeless, saying that they should get off their collective asses and get a job already. Then he said all this stuff about America needing to take care of itself first and everyone else should just go take care of their own problems and should just leave us alone and basically I got way too fired up and before I knew it I had called him an arrogant fat-lipped Nazi."   
  
Lex's brows flew upwards, although Chloe could tell he was trying very hard not to laugh out loud. He hurriedly covered his fleeting smile with an infinitely more appropriate frown. "Oh."   
  
"Yeah, exactly - oh." Chloe slumped back down onto the seat of the car, her shoulders slumping. She groaned aloud, her face in her hands. "My career in quality journalism is _over_. Maybe if I'm _really_ lucky, I'll be able to wrangle a job one day as a janitor at the Metropolis Inquisitor because obviously I'll never work as an actual reporter."   
  
Lex laid a calming hand over hers. Chloe couldn't tell whether the gesture had been deliberate, but then again, she really didn't care. "Chloe you need to calm down."   
  
His honey smooth voice served its primary purpose in calming Chloe's somewhat frayed nerves. She sighed heavily. She had also found herself suddenly somewhat distracted by the gentle inflection in his voice - she had never really paid all that much attention to Lex's voice before because wow, how weird would that have been? But now ... she made a quick mental note to ask him when she was in a more saner mood whether he had ever attended voice modulation classes, because obviously such skilful manipulation of one's voice box could not be natural.   
  
She had to pull her mind back onto the present. Lex's lips where moving, so he must have been saying something. " ... only the first of I'm sure many interviews you'll have in future. Besides with the exception of that one ... incident, it sounds like you did great. I don't know about you, but I don't know that many people who can even tell the difference between a noun and an adjective, and here you are talking about capitalism and homelessness and the plight of the third world."  
  
He was trying so hard to make her feel better, which touched her inexplicably. It was nice to know that he really cared, not to mention the obvious boost to one's ego to know that Lex Luthor was making such a transparent attempt to alleviate her humble suffering. "I know." She said quietly, her gaze still fixed onto her hands now clenched tightly together on her knees. "But I just to think that I let my temper get the better of me. I mean no matter what he said I should've been able to keep my cool and not, you know, insult him by calling him that which I will never say again."  
  
"Was he?" He asked at last, catching her reluctant gaze.  
  
"Was he what?" She asked, puzzled.  
  
"An arrogant, fat-lipped ... Nazi."   
  
Chloe pondered it for a moment. "Well - yeah, maybe except for the Nazi part. I mean I wasn't too clued in on his political leanings and ... why are you laughing?" She asked indignantly as Lex burst into unrestrained laughter.   
  
All she got in reply was more helpless laughter, crescendoeing in volume as he wrapped his arms around his aching sides for emphasis. When it appeared that he showed no signs of stopping, she crossed her arms and reclined back onto the seat, waiting for his obvious enjoyment to stop. Or to slow down at least. "Well it's good to know that you find my misfortunes so amusing Lex."   
  
"I'm sorry." He gasped between peals of uncharacteristic laughter. "It's just ... the funniest thing I've ever heard. I'm sorry." He apologised again, vainly trying to cover his laughter by ducking his head. "Oh god, I haven't laughed like that since ... never."   
  
Chloe did a double take. "What? Not really _never_, right? I mean, there must have been times ... when you were little Lex? Not often, maybe rarely, but ... not never right?" She trailed off hopefully.   
  
Lex quietened down and looked at her sombrely, taking in the hopeful expression in her eyes and no doubt weighing her ability to understand his childhood through his jaded perspective. Chloe could almost see the repressed hurt and uncertainty and anger lingering behind his eyes and she wondered at that. Wondered at what his childhood must have been like for him to still have clung onto all that hurt and anger, to still have to shield himself from its effects.   
  
She didn't know whether it was because she was getting to know him better or because he was starting to let his defences crumble around her. But she could tell that he was still deeply scarred from his childhood. He shook his head sadly, almost morosely. "No Chloe, I really mean never."   
  
Her face fell. "Lex." She knew she probably sounded a lot like pouty-Clark, that face that Clark made whenever he had found something sad or strange about Chloe that he couldn't formulate into words. Chloe had never gotten that feeling, had never gotten why Clark couldn't articulate his sympathies with words and gestures and phrases like a normal person. 

But now she knew. It was because he had felt too much, the way that Chloe was feeling too much right now. Saying Lex's name was all she could manage before she lapsed into silence, because she was frozen with a thousand conflicting instincts to hug and console and stick a very blunt object into the eye of the person who had made Lex feel this way, all at the same time.

His voice was filled with such rough honesty and raw emotion that it robbed her of all ability to enunciate anything that could remotely be construed as sympathy and understanding. She just hoped that it was enough that she was there, projecting said the sympathy and understanding and hoped that it permeated his consciousness somehow.   
  
Her hand crept out to cover his, making him simultaneously smile and frown as he gazed at their entwined hands, her smaller one over his slender pale one. His expression became unreadable as he stared at it for a moment, a breathless moment when Chloe found herself alive with anticipation.   
  
And then as if coming to an internal decision, he reached out slowly with his other hand and caressed the side of her cheek, running his slender fingers down the contours of her face and deliberately tracing the edge of her jaw. He tilted her face up almost absently before lightly brushing blond tendrils off her face and then - 

He leaned in and kissed her. 

His kiss ignited a thousand explosions within her as Chloe at last discovered what those overly sappy, moronic songs with cringe-worthy lyrics were all about. His mouth caressed hers with a gentleness that she would not have believed possible in a man, lightly nipping around the edges of her mouth before pressing more urgently, his tongue plundering hers with a passionate abandon that she would have been surprised at in Lex, if not for her complete lack of coherent thought at the moment. She savoured the feel of his lips against hers, the sensuous mouth pressed against hers that was triggering a thousand tiny eruptions of delight in the pit of her stomach. She savoured the feel of his arms around her as they wound around her neck and back and waist and caressed her hair and soon it seemed that his hands were everywhere at once, which Chloe didn't mind at all. 

She couldn't breathe from the sheer volume of emotion as her senses were overloaded with a thousand exquisite sensations, all originating from the single, mind-blowing acceptance of one fact - that she was kissing Lex Luthor. 

Finally she had to push him away, to ingest that annoying necessity of life called air. 

They looked at each other for a full second, both painfully alive to the significance of what had just happened. Chloe was breathless and excited and exhilarated and possibly a thousand other raw emotions as well that she couldn't quite articulate within the confused confines of her brain, while Lex just looked completely stunned. For one crazy second Chloe was certain that he would apologise and say it was all an extremely bizarre misunderstanding caused by having bad mushrooms at lunch, but a longer examination of his shining eyes and heavy breathing was enough to convince her to stow away her doubt, because the sexy bald guy sitting right next to her wasn't going anywhere.   
  
"Sir? We're here."   
  
Almost as if she had been burned she sprang away from him, her cheeks flaming to a level that had not previously been attained before. She stole a quick glance at Lex who had obviously recovered his composure enough to look really annoyed at the driver's interruption. 

Lex didn't even bother with a reply. He turned around, shut the door in the surprised driver's face and sat back down onto the seat again as Chloe did her best imitation of an anatomically correct statue, her gaze still and unmoving. 

t was funny. The situation was funny, her complete and utter failure at the interview was funny, in fact - the entire day had been funny. She had traversed the lows of depression and the heights of exhilarated anticipation, only to have ended up stuck in a car with Lex experiencing the best thing that had ever happened to her full stop.   
  
After all, it had easily been the best kiss of her very young though cynical life.   
  
The entire thing was just - funny. 

She suddenly exploded into laughter, a bright and infectious sound that startled Lex out of his rapidly disintegrating mood. He was so amazed by it that before the ridiculousness of the situation even registered in his brain he had also found himself reluctantly smiling too. 

Chloe gasped between peals of unrestrained laughter. "How long do you think he'll stay out there?" 

Lex shrugged coolly, the driver's physical and mental well-being obviously not in the top twenty on his list of priorities. He pulled her in towards him, his eyes glittering in the filtered light of the car. "Do we really want to be debating the moral justification of leaving my highly paid driver to stand out on the street while we continue this?" He asked coyly.

Chloe's gaze roved up and down Lex's lean frame, lingering on those lips that had ignited a fire of passion in her just moments before. "You're right." She said breathlessly, as the intense passion in his eyes threatened to consume her. "Shut up and kiss me." 

It turned out that Lex was very good at taking orders, because he did just that. 

(c) August 2002


	18. Part Eighteen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Eighteen ~*~*

Chloe slowly opened her eyes. 

Sunlight streamed unmercilessly through the slit in the heavy curtains framing her window, permeating her room with the luscious warmth of spring - that delicious mix of hay and flowers and freshly mowed grass that could only be found in the countryside. She obviously at some distant point in the past had forgotten to close her window, because the annoying chirp of a perky sparrow as it sang its lilting song of 'you're never going to be able to sleep with me around - ever' grated at the edge of her consciousness, threatening to send her foggy mind over the edge into sparrowcide.   
  
Chloe rolled over, trying to shield herself from the outside world by sticking her head under the pillow. She resolutely shut her eyes, willing herself to sink into the mindless oblivion of sleep again. Her entire body ached, but not from any unpleasant or strenuous, like actual exercise. She was just taxed out - mind, body and soul, but not in the Suzanne Somers fitness video kind of way.   
  
Her day in Metropolis had taken a lot out of her. On top of the long list of factors that had served to drive her into this state of fatigue was, of course, that certain bald headed individual who had given her the best kiss of her life and to which she hoped she would be subjected to future encore performances - and very soon at that.   
  
Chloe smiled insanely into the pillow, inhaling the smell of the freshly washed linen. Thinking about her kiss with Lex prompted her heart to start rapidly beating again and she knew that she would never get back to sleep. She sighed as she rolled out from under her pillow, squinting painfully as the blinding morning sun light pierced her sensitive eyes. She definitely didn't resemble any form of morning person whatsoever.   
  
Her mind was racing as Chloe adjusted her comforter, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. The primary thing that jumped out at her in the early morning silences of her mind was the single undeniable fact that yesterday had taken on a dream-like quality that she had been partly afraid to awake from.   
  
After their initial 'kiss' yesterday (she was using this term loosely, since technically speaking the entire affair probably constituted actual individual kisses numbering a lot more than just a single 'kiss') Chloe had felt like she was drifting in a wonderful, intoxicating dream. The hapless driver who Chloe didn't really feel the least bit sorry for had stood outside for god knew how long, while she and Lex had indulged in more tongue-related activities. 

Yes, she was a nasty, nasty person who put the pleasures of the flesh before more weighty considerations in this world, such as the plight of drivers to rich bald billionaires-to-be. Shame on her. 

Chloe had no way of telling how much time had passed until they successfully dragged themselves out of the car and back into Lex's apartment where they basically planted themselves for the rest of the day, watching movies from his bewildering assortment of DVDs and overdosing on copious amounts of junk food, before he reluctantly drove her all the way home.  
  
She giggled into her comforter, inciting a string of bewildering thoughts to race across her foggy mind at light speed. She had been surprised by the force of emotions that one kiss from Lex had unleashed within her. Even now, Chloe was startled at how much of her obviously developing feelings for Lex she had managed to hide from everyone, including herself. Although - Chloe mentally went back and revised her internal memo - Lana had not-so-subtly hinted at the possibility to her at the Talon. And then of course, there had been Clark with his insane innuendoes after the mud-wrestling incident and wow, was she the last person to find out that she had actually been attracted to Lex for at least the past few weeks?   
  
Chloe blinked, trying to wrap her confused mind around the discovery. She _did _want to be an investigative reporter eventually, right? Maybe if she managed to wrangle a job this summer, she could use her wages to buy some _perception - _because she obviously didn't have any, especially when it came to these little important details about herself.   
  
Another thought that was disturbing her and which she had been desperately putting off was the question which would be on everyone's lips once they discovered the Chloe and Lex situation. Namely - why the hell was Lex Luthor, heir to his own billionaire fortune, Metropolis sophisticate and devilishly handsome in his own, bald-headed sexy-as-hell way, even interested in someone like Chloe? Chloe was no shrinking violet afraid to trumpet her own considerably positive qualities, but she was, to put it mildly, still very confused as to why Lex would even be interested in her in the first place given the smorgasbord of women he undoubtedly could choose from. Especially - and she was just making a wild guess here - when his feelings had obviously developed sometime during the Clark phase.   
  
Chloe frowned at thin air, biting her lip absently. Sure, she was kind of smart and kind of witty. She had zingers for almost every situation and snarkyness to spare. She had been assured numerous times that she was pretty in that zany, unconventional way that was uniquely Chloe-like, with her flyaway blond hair, hazel eyes and slim build. She could claim her place in the pantheons of that unique category of 21st century teen who could actually converse on remotely intelligent terms with the over-20 crowd, and of course, what made her really interesting (according to Clark, Pete and Lana at least) was her overriding determination to achieve something she set her mind to. All very cool positives, to which she mentally made a note to give herself a big red tick.   
  
But really - what did Lex see in her? Chloe vaguely recalled Clark telling her of one of Lex's socialite girlfriends that had inhabited his house for a time last year. What was her name again? Victoria something-or-other. Clark had described her in detail for some reason but Chloe hadn't really been listening because - why would she be interested in whoever Lex was seeing when _Clark Kent_ happened to be staring at her with those big, round puppy dog eyes?   
  
She mentally kicked herself for her lack of foresight. Of course she should have foreseen that one day in the not-so-distant future, she would have totally gotten over the farm boy charm of Clark Kent and moved on to the bald-headed, sexy-as-hell charm of Lex Luthor, because duh, that just made complete and utter sense.  
  
Chloe closed her eyes as she tried to form a picture of what Victoria must have looked like. She remembered Clark saying something about her having been a brunette, tall and slim. She attempted to extrapolate the rest of the details herself. She imagined someone like Cindy Crawford, maybe skinnier but leggier, but with the same lustrous hair. She would have all the necessary accoutrements of high society, like money and a make up case that resembled Chloe's suitcase, fabulous clothes that probably cost more than Chloe's entire house, and a chest the size of Mount Everest.   
  
Hmmm. Way to make yourself feel better Chloe, she chided herself.   
  
She shook her head mentally. Imagining what Victoria McChesty looked like was probably not going to help anything, least of all her self-esteem.   
  
All this thinking so early in the morning genuinely made her head ache. She knew this would happen. It was part of the reason why she had been so stubborn about not going to sleep until 4 am, ingesting copious amounts of instant coffee and anally detailing every single event about the day on her notebook, because she knew that when she awoke to a bright new day she would have to begin to deal with the consequences of the day before and then some. Namely - all the aforementioned issues, plus dealing with clarifying the nature of her and Lex's whatever-it-was, plus catch up on the assignments she had missed yesterday, as well as confronting Clark about his sensitive little disclosure about certain feelings he sort of had for her.   
  
Okay, she should indulge in a little calming down right about now. Hyperventilating herself towards an early grave wasn't going to help.  
  
Chloe stretched her arms out, yawning in the process. She dragged herself up to a sitting position and rubbed her hands over her tired eyes, hoping to brush off the mental cobwebs that still clouded her brain. If she wanted to get as much done as possible on that long, long to-do list of hers, she should conceivably get a start on it now.   
  
Okay, this was what she was going to do today - get coffee and breakfast, in that order, preferably without her actually making said coffee and breakfast because that would require too much energy. That should allow her to muster up enough energy and brain power to alternately confront or talk to Clark about the feelings thing; then onto Lana's to get her assignments and hopefully to again, clear up the Clark feelings thing, then if she hadn't been drained out of all energy and if the task didn't assume hard-as-hell proportions, she would take herself over to Lex's ancestral mansion and have it out with him, except without the sexual imagery that immediately flashed across her mind at the thought of 'having it out' with Lex. 

She should really learn to keep those famous teenage hormones under control.   
  
She nodded to her reflection in the mirror. That sounded like a sane person plan. She just hoped that she could pull it off without unnecessary emotional trauma.

__

Author's Note: Hi! Just a quick note to say a huge thanks to all the nice feedback I've gotten. Really keeps me going through the boredom hours (known as work). 

I did notice that this part was a bit short, but hopefully I'll be able to write some more once the weekend hits. 

(c) August 2002


	19. Part Nineteen

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Nineteen ~*~*

  
Chloe peered cautiously through the open door of the Kent household. In times gone by she would have just knocked loudly and sauntered in whether she had been invited or not, since that was the way she had entered the Kent house since the very first time that Clark had invited her and Pete to his house.   
  
But now it was different. Too much had changed and too much had been said; so much so that she wasn't entirely sure of her reception by the Kent's if they knew the full extent of the Clark-Chloe complications that had occurred within the past few months. While she knew that Mr and Mrs Kent would always have a ready smile for her whether or not she was friends with Clark, she really wasn't in the mood to face awkwardness of any kind, even if it was the kindly meant gentle curiosity of Jonathan and Martha Kent.   
  
"Hello?" Chloe squinted as she surveyed the Kent kitchen, rendered dark by the blinding late morning light by comparison.   
  
"Chloe?" She heard the soft pitter-patter of Mrs Kent's shoes as she made her way into the kitchen. "What are you doing just standing there? Come on in."   
  
Chloe smiled gratefully at the older woman, "Thanks Mrs Kent." She stepped through the door and into the cool shade of the kitchen. "How are you?"   
  
"I'm very well, thank you. I was just upstairs folding some clothes. What about you? I haven't seen you come by in a while." Chloe reddened and looked down at her feet in confusion. There was a gentle hint of curiosity in Mrs Kent's voice that the older woman had been careful to conceal, but it had been there all the same. Obviously Clark had only told them half of the Clark-Chloe saga of non-friendship, or else Mrs Kent would not be standing there gently inquiring into her son's business.   
  
"Oh you know ... I've been really busy. With ... stuff." Chloe finished off lamely. She just couldn't muster enough strength to lie to the kindly woman in front of her. Martha Kent had been the closest thing that Chloe had had to a mother in this town, and she knew that the woman knew her almost better than her own mother. Which was a bit sad and pathetic in its own way, but  
Chloe had accepted it as fact a long time ago. It was just the way things were.   
  
Chloe anxiously grasped the straps of her shoulder bag. "Is ... Clark around Mrs Kent?"   
  
The older woman smiled maternally, "I think you'll find him in the barn."   
  
Of course, she should have guessed. Whenever things got rough for Clark, he would always retreat into his aptly named 'Fortress of Solitude'. It was a strange concept, one which struck Chloe anew for the first time in a long time - that on the surface, Clark Kent seemed like the wholesome all-American farm boy. Open and friendly, a person with a ready smile and seemingly guileless in manner.   
  
But Chloe, as one half of his two best friends, knew better. Clark had a decidedly different side to him, a side that not many realised existed. He was reserved to the point of lunacy sometimes, choosing to keep things to himself that Chloe knew cost him a lot of emotional energy to sustain. Why else would a 16 year old boy need a place of solitude? It was a chance to get away from everyone and everything in the world, and while Chloe could sympathise with that sentiment a little, she couldn't fully grasp why it was of such tantamount importance to Clark - to have this place that was completely separate from his every day life, something that was so obviously  
apart from all the things he counted as normal.   
  
It was something that had always intrigued Chloe about Clark when they had been growing up. In many ways, it still did.   
  
Chloe took a deep breath as she mounted the stairs. Time for the big confrontation slash talk slash whatever it could degenerate into.   
  
At the back of her conflicted mind she must have been playing the friendship theme of doom, because she was caught completely by surprise by the totally non-confrontational atmosphere in the barn. She blinked in the bright sunlight, squinting at Clark's eerily still form as he stood gazing out over the wide expanse of the Kent farm and the nearby Lang house. He seemed to have sunk deep in thought; unaware that he was being acutely observed by Chloe, who relished the rare opportunity to drink in the sight of Clark's tall, muscular frame, as he leaned against the side of the window, arms crossed over his broad chest. 

But it was the expression in his eyes that really caught Chloe. For once, the glittering of Clark's big blue orbs had nothing to do with happiness or sadness or a million other emotions that Chloe had seen painted on Clark's uniquely handsome features. This expression was new - as if he had been thinking of something far, far away, beyond the comprehension of mere mortals like herself. Chloe shivered involuntarily. Of course, the whole effect was enhanced a thousand fold by the light streaming past his still form, forming some sort of super aura around his frame. 

She shifted, her feet managing to rustle some hay that was strewn about the floor. Clark quickly jerked around, startled out of his reverie. His face melted into a more familiar relaxed expression when he saw Chloe standing there in all her awkward glory. 

"Chloe." He greeted her, still clearly thrown by surprise. "Hi." 

"Ah ... hi." She said a little nervously. Chloe who was usually so at ease with small talk, especially with Clark, found herself really, really nervous at the prospect of speaking to Clark about the 'feelings' thing. Maybe it was because she had deliberated so much on it; maybe her strength was more in impromptu rants than well-thought out speeches. Or maybe she was just being extremely idiotic and making a gigantic mountain out of a very small molehill. "Your Mom said you were up here." 

He nodded mutely, as they engaged in a contest of stares.

He lumbered towards her, away from the blinding glare of light streaming through the window. "Chloe I'm sorry for all that stuff I said to you in school earlier. I-"

"Clark," she interjected, wanting to hug him but knowing that it was _so_ not a good idea at the moment. "You don't have to be sorry for feeling ... whatever you're feeling." 

"I know." He acknowledged quietly. "But it wasn't fair of me to just dump it on you like that." He sighed. "You were right. There wasn't really anything you could say to that. I mean, you're friends with Lana and everything ..." He trailed off, and it seemed that all the energy had been sapped out of him as he slouched and sat down on a bale of hay.

Chloe looked on, aching because of her inability to do anything to comfort him. This was wrong - this wasn't Clark. Clark was everything that made Chloe smile and laugh, Clark was friendly and goofy and niceness personified; he wasn't this confused and mopey individual who now sat in front of her, his shoulders hunched and his face in his hands. 

"Clark," She kneeled down so that she now looked up at him, "it's not the end of the world you know." She sighed and looked at her hands, feeling all the strangeness of the encounter. Shouldn't it have been Chloe who felt conflicted about her feelings for Clark, and Clark comforting her in his endearing puppy dog-like way, secure in his Lana love? Maybe she had accidentally tripped into an alternate dimension where her life actually didn't suck. 

"Have you talked to Lana about any of this?" Chloe asked quietly, jerking Clark out of his increasing vortex of brood. 

He nodded miserably. "She came over the day before and we just talked_ - _about everything." Chloe bit her lip. It was painful seeing how affected Clark was by his confusion. "Chloe, she _knew_." Clark said with naked despair in his voice. "She just came right out and asked me, and I couldn't lie or say anything different. I just stood there and watched her face crumble, and then she said that maybe we should spend some time away from each other, to let me figure out what I really want." He ducked his head miserably. "I feel so bad." 

Chloe looked on, her hazel eyes wide with shock. "You guys broke up?" 

He nodded absently, and Chloe wasn't sure whether he had actually heard her or he was just carrying an internal monologue of recrimination with himself. "The thing is," He paused as he shifted slightly, giving her room to sit down next to him, "I'm sure what I really want now, but I'm afraid it's too late." Pain-filled blue orbs met concerned hazel ones as their gazes locked. "I love Lana. She's always been everything to me, and ... even though I think I would have been happy ... with you ... I -" 

Chloe made a quick shushing sound, silencing him gently as she placed a finger on his lips. With all the understanding that she could muster, she said quietly, "I know."

Clark glanced up, his eyes widening in understanding. She could see him swallowing several times before he garnered enough energy to form actual coherent sentences. "I don't want to hurt you Chloe but -" 

"I'm not hurt Clark." She shook her head as if to emphasise her point, smiling gently in the process. "A bit miffed maybe. But ... I think I've successfully gotten over the Kent charm, at least the part that made me act crazy." She let a small laugh escape her. "I think I'll be okay." The wheels in her mind quickly spun into over-drive as she realised that she was right. She would be okay. 

"Really?" Clark asked transparently, hope shining in his eyes. 

"Really." 

They sat in comfortable silence for a long moment, and if Clark hadn't been still miserable over screwing it up with Lana, Chloe would have said it was the most comfortable she had been with Clark since before the Prom debacle. 

She sneaked a glance at Clark, misery still plainly etched on his face. Words of advice about Lana were on the tip of her brain, but she wasn't sure whether it was really her place to meddle. 

On another moment's reflection - it was totally her place to meddle. She was both Clark and Lana's friend, and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever for her to stand by with the morbid fascination of watching the horrible car accident of their relationship happen due to the impending martyrdom of its two participants. "You know, I don't think it's too late." 

Clark's head snapped up, naked hope on his face. "What do you mean?" 

She nodded with slightly more conviction that she felt. "Lana really likes you Clark. She's nice, and understanding, and surprisingly strong." She chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. "I think you'll be surprised at how quickly she can forgive you." 

Clark blinked owlishly at her, clearly digesting her thoughts. "So if I ... if I go to see her now, do you think she'll listen to me?"

Chloe repressed a sigh. Clark was so child-like sometimes that it simultaneously irked and appealed to her at the same time. She found herself preferring the strong conviction of Lex's thoughts and actions. Whatever may be said of the billionaire, he was one powerful individual who knew how to get what he wanted. 

She smiled fondly at Clark. "Just see what happens." Was all she said, hoping it would be enough to dispel any doubt left in both her and Clark's minds.

Clark pouted, looking down at his boots. Then he suddenly rose, his rosy face splitting into a wide grin. "Thanks Chloe." 

Chloe's smiled mirrored his. "You're welcome." She said to thin air, as she watched Clark race out of the barn like there was no tomorrow. 

(c) August 2002


	20. Part Twenty

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty ~*~*

Chloe took a deep breath and pressed the door bell. 

Her highly imaginative though logical plan had suffered a minor detour, owing to the fact that she had so generously coached Clark into trying to salvage his relationship with Lana - thereby making it highly inappropriate for Chloe to go barging over to Lana's house right now, asking for the lame school assignments that she had missed on Friday. Some quirky Chloe instinct told her that it would take Clark a _really_ long time to get to the point; she bet that he would take even longer to actually start grovelling for Lana's mercy. 

Which had made her reorder her simple yet brilliant plan. 

So now she was outside Lex's ancestral mansion after having passed an impressive pair of unlocked iron gates and feeling strangely excited and foolish at the same time. 

Chloe had never thought she would be doing this - this crazy flirting, kissing thing with Lex. And now she was scared to death of the consequences. What if he told her that yesterday had been a complete and utter mistake, the pinnacle of stupidity ... the height of insanity? She knew that she would just nod dumbly and wish the ground would swallow her up, and then run home and cry like a gushing faucet. And then hate him with a passion of a thousand suns, and she really didn't want that to happen. 

"Yes?" A young but strange butler type man inquired as he opened the grand double doors at the front of the mansion. He looked around before his wandering eyes landed on Chloe's head, her anxiety making her shuffle her feet. "Can I help you?" He asked, his voice gravelly and mechanical-like. 

"Ah ... I'm here to see Lex. Er - Lex Luthor. Mr Luthor." Chloe corrected herself, inwardly groaning in disbelief at how obscenely young - and she couldn't emphasise this enough - how stupid she sounded. 

There was a slight pause, as if he was trying to remember something. A second later his stern demeanour melted into a welcoming smile, and he held the door open for her to enter. "Miss Sullivan. Mr Luthor has been expecting you." He smiled as he offered to take her coat. 

"What?" Chloe was jerked momentarily out of her awkwardness by that disclosure, her coat falling to the floor ungracefully by her feet. "How ...?" 

The young man smiled enigmatically as he unobtrusively picked up her coat and led her down a long hallway, making enough twists and turns to bewilder Chloe's not-so-great sense of direction. 

She looked around her. She had known from her first visit with Clark that Lex's place had been big, but it was only now when she actually had to walk in it, navigate around it, that she could truly appreciate the size and grandeur of the Luthor ancestral mansion. After, it hadn't really helped that she had only seen the area around the library before getting tossed out like a giant rag doll. 

Now that she wasn't distracted by the whole getting thrown out of the window thing, she took a moment to absorb the immensity of Lex's place. It was big. Excruciatingly, unrealistically, out-of-this-world _big_. It was also intimidating and a whole bunch of other stuff along those lines, and did she also mention big? 

Before setting foot in this house (she was using 'house' very loosely of course) all she had been scared about was impending rejection by Lex. But what scared her more now was the intrusive realisation that this was the world that Lex came from - the world that he _was _from. Not until this moment had Chloe realised how many worlds apart she and Lex truly were. How could she even hope that, even if Lex felt the same way about her as she now obviously did about him, they could even make things work? 

Chloe felt her claustrophobic vortex of fear and anxiety churning in her stomach, and suddenly she wanted to run. Which was unfortunate because they had now jerked to a stop in front of a pair of floor to ceiling French doors. Chloe stared dumbly at the sunlight that filtered easily through them, blinking in confusion. 

"Mr Luthor is just through there." The young man indicated, and without further ceremony disappeared from sight. 

"Thanks ..." Chloe sighed as her voice trailed into thin air. There was a definite queasiness that had settled into the pit of her stomach, and she irritatingly wondered why she had insisted on having such a huge breakfast. So okay, she had been monumentally hungry and all, but that was no excuse for her abysmal lack of foresight.

She tried to shake off the negativity that now pervaded her mind. She had a feeling she was making too much out of this. This is stupid Chloe, she chided herself. She was seeing Lex, her ... whoever he was, not going to face a firing squad. She had more guts than this. 

She took a deep breath and swung open the door. 

Fresh, cool air and the heavy fragrance of a well-kept garden assaulted her over-heightened senses, soothing her fraying nerves a little. That was, until she saw Lex's unmistakable form whirl around at her entrance. 

"Hey." She greeted him awkwardly, failing to stick her hands in her pockets owing to the small fact that her pants actually didn't have any pockets. She let her hands fall awkwardly to the side. 

"Chloe." Lex recovered quickly from his momentary surprise, getting up from the stone garden bench he had been sitting on. He walked quickly towards her with a determined look on his features, causing a blinding moment of panic to engulf Chloe. This was it, she thought, strangely mollified. He was going to tell her that it had all been a mistake. 

But all her fears were dispelled in the instant that his lips descended on hers. His mouth widened to allow his tongue to savour her unique taste, a mixture of delicious excitement and surprised passion, while his arms entangled themselves in her hair and body, alternately massaging and arousing her senses. 

It was a big, giant screen movie screen kiss, and it knocked Chloe's remaining breath completely out of her system. So much so that she faintly considered whether she should motion for Lex to stop, but before she could do that unthinkable act the other side of her still-functioning brain ridiculed the absolute idiocy of that idea. Ask Lex to stop this, her bemused mind wondered dimly. _Right_. 

Her hands wound up around his waist and back, before reaching his bare head, eliciting an actual moan of pleasure from Lex. Did she just do that? 

"Wow." She said breathlessly as they finally broke apart, wondering whether the excited drumming of her heart was capable of developing into a coronary, albeit of the extremely pleasant variety. 

"Hi." Lex returned cheekily, obviously enjoying her delighted confusion. "You're a little earlier than I thought you'd be." 

"Ah ..." Chloe blinked several times, flustered beyond belief. "What was _that _... Hey, how did you know I would come? I mean, here?" 

Lex reached for her hand, using it to tug her to the bench. "It was a logical deduction." He pulled her down beside him, gently wrapping his arms around Chloe's small frame as he moulded his body against hers. She instinctively froze at the contact, but soon found herself relaxing into Lex's gentle embrace. 

Off her questioning look, he elaborated. "I've noticed women have a habit of clarifying things." He paused as a servant seemingly materialised out of thin air next to him, holding out a tray of fresh fruit and blue bottled water. He offered a bottle to her, to which she unwittingly wrinkled her nose. He nodded indulgently, understanding permeating his stance. "What kind of coffee did you want?" 

"Just ... a latte." She glanced at the servant. "Whatever. No trouble, I could just have water ... " She trailed off, waving her hands awkwardly after the man as he left, unused to ordering any sort of beverage in any place besides a restaurant. It again brought to mind the differences that existed between hers and Lex's worlds; how they would work around that remained to be seen. 

If they could, she correctly herself silently.

She turned her eyes back onto him as he continued. "Women seem to have this need to ... define things. You being you ... I just knew you'd come, if only to make sure I hadn't forgotten what happened yesterday." 

"Oh." Chloe didn't know whether she particularly liked the feeling of being read like an open book, even if Lex were to tell her that she was more of the Shakespearian variety than the Mills and Boon variety. There had been many things said about her by her friends, but no one had ever said she had been easy to read. That Lex could so easily anticipate the workings of her sometimes convoluted mind scared her. 

"So what was that -" she gestured between their lips, prompting him to smile, "about?" 

His grip tightened on hers imperceptibly, and if possible he leaned even closer against her. She caught a faint tang of expensive cologne and apple-scented soap, which she caught herself unwittingly savouring. "That was about saying what needed to be said in a more ... efficient way. Admit it, you would have been dancing around the real issue until I made you come right out and say it." Chloe blinked, acknowledging the truth of the statement. Damn it, he was completely right. And here she had been ridiculing Clark's non-straightforwardness, and all the while she had been master to his disciple. 

It irritated her in a distinctly immature way that he had felt so confident about his conjecture. Here Chloe had been, tossing and turning about the possibilities about their possible future, while Lex had probably gotten a good night's sleep without developing any worry wrinkles, seemingly secure in the knowledge that he could read Chloe like an open book, even if she had wanted herself to be closed. Which she didn't, but that was beside the point. 

The servant came back with a latte, just as Chloe had ordered it. She silently took the proffered mug, fuming inwardly. "Okay, if you're so smart - tell me what happens now?" 

Lex shrugged, in that patently confident yet casual way of his. "I'll take you out tonight, and we'll have a great time." He smiled irresistibly at her, and Chloe felt her annoyance draining away. 

Damn that sexy-as-hell smile. 

"You know, I probably have to catch up on my assignments tonight." She smiled innocently up at him. "After all, I kind of missed school yesterday and I don't want to let my grades slip." 

Chloe could almost hear him smiling into her hair. "School work can wait." He said decidedly, snaking one arm around her waist and burying himself into the crook of her neck. Soon he was nipping his way down the contours of her neck, sending shivers of pleasure careening up and down her spine with his lips, before winding back up, plunging into her mouth. 

At the back of her mind, Chloe wondered at the complete lack of awkwardness between them. Even with Clark there had been a certain level of teenage clumsiness, that split-second hesitation of where to place their mouths for optimal lip-lockage, where to place their hands and so on. 

But being with Lex, having him kiss and tease her in such a way seemed way too natural to be believed. But it did feel natural, and Chloe for one was going to enjoy it while it lasted. 

(c) August 2002


	21. Part Twenty One

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-One ~*~*

Chloe walked determinedly along the road. 

She was faintly aware that to passers-by with only a modicum of interest, she would have looked like a slightly deranged blonde walking along the side of the road, a goofy grin plastered permanently on her face for no sane person reason at all. 

But what those perfect strangers would not have known was the reason for that said smile, the reason - or rather, the person, who just happened to be a certain rich, bald-headed individual who had achieved what no male had ever achieved before. That was, made Chloe ridiculously, cliche-droppingly happy, so much so that even her almost infinite capacity for snark and sarcasm had been overcome - with some very interesting results. 

One such result was the complete disregard Chloe now had towards anything that resembled rational thought. Where before she might have been compelled to analyse and turn over anything and everything that had been said by Lex during their conversation in her mind and extrapolate all possible reasons and or motivations, she just couldn't be bothered right now. It was almost as if her somewhat giddy happiness had succeeded in crowding out any semblance of what Chloe would call her normal self. 

In short, she was slightly tipsy with happiness - which was so far off the scale of the normal Chloe spectrum she might as well be in an alternate dimension. 

She wasn't even all that perturbed about her upcoming conversation with Lana about a certain cute but occasionally mopey farm boy. Chloe knew she should have been worried; if not for the whole Lex happiness that was crowding out rational thought thing, she would probably still be reeling from her conversation with Clark earlier in the day. 

Even now as her mind reluctantly touched on the thought, it succeeded in dragging her down from cloud 347 back to cloud 9. It was probably a good thing, Chloe thought. She was getting a bit too bloated from all the floating around in the stratosphere of emotions like some giant insanely happy Chloe-balloon. 

It was certainly sobering to think that Clark and Lana, whose relationship Chloe had always thought so impenetrable given the whole Clark worship slash Lana in danger moments, could actually fall apart due to something as mundane and ordinary as a slight Chloe infatuation. It was just incredible - like she had just witnessed something akin to a miracle, except of the bad variety. 

So now she was trudging faithfully to Lana's house, ostensibly to grab the assignments that she had missed yesterday, but in reality trying to do her part for the good of freakishly good looking couples everywhere and her sanity. Because what kind of world would make sense if Clark and Lana weren't together but she and Lex were? 

It was a scary, scary thought. 

At last Chloe reached Lana's house. All seemed still and quiet as she trotted up to the front door, rapping loudly against the frame. A languorous half-drowsiness seemed to pervade the still air around her as Chloe waited for an answer, absently scratching her shoulder and running her hands through her hair. 

Chloe looked around, squinting at the fresh brightness from the sun. She couldn't be sure whether she had left Clark enough time to talk to Lana; even more uncertain was the reception that Chloe was going to get from the ex-fairy princess herself. After all, Chloe wouldn't exactly count it insanity if Lana decided to stab Chloe in the back with a very thick ice pick - it was probably what Chloe would want to do in Lana's place. 

The desired nervousness and anxiety came flowing back as she turned her attention more fully onto the issue at hand. Chloe obviously had not deliberated enough as to what exactly she was going to say to Lana. She had this funny feeling that 'Clark's totally not into me, so you guys deal, okay' wasn't going to repair the damage that had been done to Lana's feelings. And to add guilt to already heaped layers of guilt, Chloe was feeling such a state of contented happiness that she had physical trouble wiping that silly grin off her face, which was a _huge _deal, since the last time a silly grin like that had graced Chloe's not-so-angelic visage was the day after never_. _

A slight rustling brought her attention back onto the present. The door opened, revealing Lana in all her rumpled glory. The normally perfectly groomed ex-cheerleader looked somewhat frazzled, and even to Chloe's untrained eyes, she didn't look like she had spent too much time on her appearance. Her usually lustrous hair looked dull, although it still managed to fall about her shoulders artfully. Her large eyes seemed tired and inert, and upon closer examination, they also seemed to rimmed with a suspicious redness. If Chloe hadn't known better she would have guessed that Lana had been crying. 

This was definitely a sign of the bad. 

"Oh ... hi Chloe." Lana greeted her pleasantly, although Lana's trademark freakishly nice smile was definitely missing in action. Maybe it was hiding, Chloe thought desperately. She stuck her hands in her pockets. 

"Hey Lana." Chloe replied, her nervousness coming to the fore. Non-smiling Lana signalled a very serious turn of events. It was like Armageddon, except more improbable and scary. 

She hated to think what Lana thought of her right now. Hopefully not murdering Chloe thoughts, although that would have been her best guess. "I ah ... I just wanted to pick up the assignments. I mean, for school. The ones I missed out on yesterday." 

"Oh." Lana looked slightly taken aback before she motioned for Chloe to come into the house. Immediately the cool darkness of the air soothed her heated skin, although it did nothing to calm the torrent of guilt rising up in her gut. For Lana to have looked this glum and relatively unpleasant meant that the Clark grovelling might not have actually worked, which meant that Chloe was a horrible person who had succeeded in breaking up Clark and Lana before attaining happiness of giddy proportions with Lex. All of which made her a bad, bad person and -

Okay, she should really shut up now. 

Lana rummaged around the stack of papers on the table while Chloe looked on awkwardly. She was desperate to say something about the Clark situation, but didn't quite know how to begin. Obviously girlie small talk wasn't going to cut it, nor would a corker starting with 'So Clark tells me you two broke up, what's up with that' wasn't going to cut it either. 

"So ... how are you?" She casually asked, hoping that her ulterior concern was better hidden than it normally was. Sometimes she had the vaguely unpleasant suspicion that she was almost as transparent as Clark. 

Lana looked up from the table, startled by the seriousness in Chloe's voice. "What do you mean?" She scrutinised Chloe carefully, clearly puzzled by the desperate undercurrent that must have been emanating from her. 

"You know ... life. How is life going for you?" Chloe inwardly rolled her eyes at her transparent awkwardness, but resolved to plod on regardless. If she was dipping her oar into the murky sea of romantic guidance of her best friends' relationship, she might as well go the whole way. So what if it involved falling in and dying a horrible, watery death? She took a deep breath. "I talked to Clark today." 

A single brow arched elegantly upwards as Lana looked on expectantly, although her expression remained carefully closed. 

Lana's expression almost made Chloe tremble. This was definitely something that she had not witnessed before - this other Lana who didn't give anything way, who didn't smile or frown or do anything that might have been construed as human emotion. She looked like a statue - a very blank looking statue. "This is probably none of my business and normal people would just butt out because it's not any of their business and they would know it. But you know me better than that." She plonked herself down onto a seat by the table, sprawling awkwardly over the edge of the table. She continued. "Lana, I know you guys have been having the issues. But you know every relationship has their issues, and if there weren't any issues then it wouldn't be a relationship and it wouldn't make sense and it wouldn't mean anything." She looked up at Lana intently, willing the other girl to understand the sincerity in her voice. "I mean, I've known Clark for so long - he's one of my best friends and there's almost nothing that we haven't been able to say to each other. And as one half of his official best friend committee I'd like to inform you that if there's one thing that Clark wanted and loved and craved most in this world - is you. Just ask Pete. We've been putting up with the constant exposition about your perfection for so long we even have a code for it. It's like ... it's like a part of Clark, this part where he just totally and completely is in love with you and so what if he experiences what I like to call as a moment of insanity by admitting his slight Chloe-crush because let's face it, you're the one he always loved and probably always will and if you don't recognise that then you just probably don't deserve a guy like Clark. And even though I just said that I hope we're still friends." 

Chloe abruptly stopped. She was actually out of breath, a condition that she had only experienced while being forced to run for her life from some evil Smallville-bred meteor freak. The feeling was almost as unpleasant as the one she was feeling right now, waiting in breathless anticipation for Lana's reaction. As best as her confused brain could figure, there was about a fifty-fifty possibility between Lana throwing Chloe out of the house and Lana bitch-slapping her and then throwing her out of her house. 

With these thoughts running rampantly through her head, Chloe was taken completely by surprise as warmth and humour diffused over Lana's slightly pale face. 

Lana actually _laughed,_ a uniquely fervent laugh that seemed to bubble up from some unfathomable depth and becoming exposed to the light of day. Her eyes shone with something like wicked humour and it took Chloe a few seconds to work out that Lana was actually laughing _at _her. 

Finally her laughter subsided into barely tolerant giggles. "I ... I'm sorry Chloe." She wiped the tears of merriment that were streaming out of her eyes. "Clark came over this morning and told me that he'd talked to you. We ... kind of worked out our issues. At least, I think we're going to get through them." She smiled self-deprecatingly. "I was jealous. I mean you and Clark have this great friendship and in so many ways you know him better than I do. And ... when he admitted that he still had feelings for you it all just came tumbling out. It was like - all those years we lived less than a mile from each other and I never knew what was right there in front of me, you know? I guess I was more jealous because you had the good sense to really see what a great person Clark is and I didn't, and look at all the stuff I missed out on." She smiled sheepishly. "So I think I kind of ... overreacted." 

"Oh." Chloe leaned back, stills stunned by the obvious lack of any ill-feeling that Lana had towards her. She knew she had said it before, but Lana was just so unendurably nice. She also felt strangely relieved that she wasn't one friend short today, which explained her notable lack of articulating anything that resembled a complete sentence. 

Lana sniffled and cleared her throat, coughing raggedly. "Sorry, I'm just slightly sick." She let out several more coughs as she reached for the box of Kleenex beside Chloe. "Scratch that, I'm really sick. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I was mad at you or anything." Her eyes twinkled as she grabbed a nearby shawl, wrapping it around her slim frame. 

"Oh. No big." It was about all Chloe could manage. It kind of felt strange to have said all those things to Lana, that was, besides the obvious strangeness about being Clark's ambassador to Lana. It somehow served to put some sort of final closure on the whole her being in love with Clark thing. It was like a box had been closed in her mind, that no matter what happened between her and Lex in future, she would never again fall under the spell of the unique Kent charm. It was kind of scary and exhilarating at the same time. "Well, it's good that you're not mad at me. I was kind of worried there for a while." She ventured. "So you and Clark are back together?" 

Lana grinned between racking coughs. "Why do I get the feeling that you're relieved?" 

"Oh ... no reason." Chloe said, feigning innocence. "Just glad that there isn't any badness on my account, you know." 

Lana nodded thoughtfully. "So did you enjoy yourself with Lex at Metropolis yesterday?" She asked slyly. 

"How did you know that I went to Metropolis?" Chloe asked, uncomfortably aware that Lana was trying to pry something out of her. Being Lana's friend had increased Chloe's perception about the former cheerleader, and while Lana was one of the nicest people she had ever met, there was also the side of her that wasn't above a little friendly manipulation in order to get the information that she wanted. 

"Clark told me he saw you buying coffee at the Talon yesterday morning with Lex." She paused, chewing on a strand of hair. "So what was it like spending the entire day with him?" She prodded, her eyes holding a world of conjecture as they stared intently at Chloe's. 

At the mention of Lex's name, Chloe couldn't help but break out into an irrepressible grin. It was all very well for Chloe to keep Lana's curiosity at bay when it came to more mundane matters like her job interview, but it was an entirely different matter when she oh-so-skilfully threw Lex into the equation. It was almost as if the other girl could _sense _her innermost thoughts and feelings. 

Although judging by the insane grin that had been in evidence on her face since leaving Lex's place, it probably hadn't taken that much of Lana's sixth sense to tell that something of the good had happened. 

"It was ... good." Despite her best efforts Chloe could not stop her grin widening to gigantic proportions. This was so not a good thing for a future reporter in the making. 

Lana looked on expectantly, leaning forward in obvious anticipation.

"Okay it was _great._" Chloe finally exploded. "For no sane person reason, Lex likes me, which is - and I'll say it again - _insane._ But this ... I've never felt like this before." She sighed dreamily, grasping for the right superlatives. "It's like, I feel so comfortable and natural around him and even though we verbally spar a lot, that just adds to the fun, you know? It's different but good ... I don't know. It's great and it's new so I don't really know what's going to happen. He's so gentle and sweet even though he doesn't look like it and let's face it, kind of sexy, don't you think?"

Lana nodded sagely before she broke out into a smile. "So would this be a good time to say 'I told you so'?" Lana asked cheekily.

Chloe's eyes narrowed, before she giggled insanely. "Don't think I won't get you back for that." She joked, grabbing a wad of tissues from the box and throwing them towards Lana, who skilfully dodged the flowery missiles, cracking a smile between sniffles.

The two girls looked haplessly at each other before collapsing into hopeless giggles. For Chloe, the day could almost have been described as perfect. First she had cleared things up with Clark and now she knew that she and Lana were going to be okay. And of course, the sweet chocolate-y icing on her already really very yummy cake - she had Lex. 

And the day wasn't even over yet. 

(c) August 2002


	22. Part Twenty Two

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Two ~*~*

Try as she might, Chloe could not wipe the slightly goofy grin off her face. 

She had been smiling so much that she could almost hear her facial muscles screaming at her, ready to stage a revolt at being made to work such cruel and demanding hours. It was true - Chloe couldn't recall any other time in her life that she had subjected herself to so much smiling. But then again, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt such undiluted happiness, which would sort of explain why she hadn't felt this ache forming from overusage of facial muscles before. She felt like the deranged Smallville version of the Joker, but with way less make up and was hopefully way less creepy. 

The rational part of her still-functional brain continued to resist the thought that this was actually real, that she was sitting here at the Talon after the best date in the history of Chloe time and she modestly assured herself, in the history of everyone on the face of the planet. 

She was, quite frankly, amazed that Lex hadn't commented about her peaked awareness and intense wackiness as yet. She felt like she was on hyper drive, her emotions and senses whirling and bouncing around inside her, ready to make her burst like some gigantic balloon that would spray giddy happiness to everyone around her. 

It was starting to freak her out - this intense feeling of the good that threatened to consume every particle in Chloe's body. Her notoriously convoluted mind was beginning to wonder when all this giddy happiness would end. Something that she definitely didn't want to think about this early at night. 

She pushed the unpleasant thought away. She and Lex had ended up at the Talon after a night which Chloe could only describe as 'magical'. So okay, that might have been a slight exaggeration on the quality of the evening, given that Lex had just taken her out to see the latest movie showing at Smallville's one and only multiplex followed by an enjoyable but hardly sumptuous dinner at a local restaurant, but Chloe figured that she was allowed to be moony and sentimental when taken out by her very rich and very sexy almost-boyfriend. It was written in the teenage girl's handbook of life somewhere - 'thou shalt smile goofily to complete strangers and appear to be completely insane'. 

Chloe's smile widened. She was now officially and certifiably insane. 

After she and Lana had re-bonded that afternoon, Lana had made the exceptionally brilliant offer of becoming Chloe's official fashion adviser for her upcoming date with Lex, an offer which Chloe gratefully accepted. After having agonised over her outfit for that fateful interview in Metropolis, she had been glad to accept Lana's offer. After all, two girls were better than one when it came to fashion manoeuvring, especially when one of the said girls was Chloe, notorious for her slightly wacky taste in clothing which had about a 50-50 hit-and-miss ratio. 

Unfortunately for Chloe, she hadn't counted on the Clark factor. When Lana had showed up at the appointed time with Clark in tow, Chloe didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Talk about the melodrama that was masquerading as her life. Even though she and Clark and talked about their feelings and had cleared up some issues that day, Chloe thought it was going to be just a _little _too much to expect for the three of them to bond like some big weird happy family. Especially when the purported bonding event was her date with Lex. 

But miraculously, the whole disaster-in-waiting failed to materialise. Lana had been apologetic about having told Clark about why Chloe wanted her help, telling Chloe privately that Clark had insisted on staying with her that afternoon because of her slight flu situation and that it had been impossible to shake off his suspicions without actually telling him what she was up to, going to Chloe's house when she was sick. 

To say that Chloe had been taken by surprise to find Clark on her doorstep would have been the understatement of the millennium. While there definitely had been episodes of mutual consultation regarding fashion in the Clark and Chloe friendship saga, she thought that it was going to be asking a little too much for him to help in the whole fashion advice for her date thing. 

But Clark had been surprisingly helpful by not offering his opinion at all. He had basically planted himself in the corner of Chloe's room and had stayed silent the entire time that she and Lana had been deciding on shades and hues, dress versus pants, hairspray or gel. It was only when Chloe and Lana had been satisfied with the 'final product' had he roused himself and offered his meagre opinion. 

"You look beautiful Chloe." He had said simply, his eyes wide, conveying a world of emotion incapable of being distilled into words. 

That was when Chloe understood why Clark had wanted to come along. It had been his simple, elegant way of making amends for the badness that had happened, of getting a fresh start with both her and Lana. That somehow by helping out in the production of a more polished Chloe for her date with Lex, he was in a way making up for the confusion and trauma he had put Chloe through over the past year. 

She had smiled gratefully, feeling a warm fuzzy feeling course inside of her. 

All of which had brought her to this point - the point where she was obscenely contented while draped over a couch at the Talon, waiting for Lex Luthor to bring her a tall mocha with extra cream and wondering why the hell he was taking so long, seeing as this was partly his coffee house and she hadn't seen him for a whole four minutes and fifty seconds. 

Chloe looked down, idly straightening her sleeveless siren red satin top and hip-hugging black pants over her body. After careful deliberation, she and Lana had agreed that it had been best to go with what Chloe like to call 'casual sexy', since Lex had already seen her at her worst and therefore there had been no point in pretending to look like someone she really wasn't. 

Which, Chloe discovered, had been an extremely good call when Lex had arrived at her house precisely at seven to pick her up. Lex had sauntered into her house after an obviously worried Gabe Sullivan, dressed in his customary black pants and expensively cut grey micro fibre shirt, similar to the one that she had dirtied after their foray in the deserted field just outside town. 

Talk about getting a good start to the evening. It seemed that since her trip to Metropolis, everything had been working out for her, which made her queasy to the extreme. Chloe was kind of perverse that way, and she prayed to whatever god was listening that her amazing luck would continue - at least, she hoped that her luck would hold for the rest of the night. 

She fidgeted, smoothing down her top for a second time in as many minutes. Her sexy bald-headed guy had been gone for five minutes and thirty seconds now, and she was starting to itch with restlessness. Exactly how long does a rich billionaire-to-be need to get his really impatient blonde date a cup of coffee around here? 

Chloe's gaze flittered impatiently across the room. It was a Saturday night, so naturally the entire under-30 population of Smallville seemed have chosen the Talon as the place to hang, even though it didn't look all that much like 'hanging' given the fact that almost everyone was sitting and probably drinking way too much coffee for this time of night. Although for Chloe to pass judgment on others for excessive caffeine intake was rather like a really black pot calling some plastic white kettle from Wal-Mart black. 

Generally people seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Chloe was glad because it would have been way too much weirdness to handle in one night if she couldn't see evidence of other people besides her having a really good time tonight. 

Chloe caught a group of jocks staring at her, second string players on the football team by the looks of them, although she had to rummage around her fuzzy brain for a while to dredge up exactly who they were. They were seniors who had occasionally threatened to cramp her editorial style with their inane jockulinity, but Chloe had never paid any attention to them. So what if they randomly tipped her books over or made sure they 'accidentally' knocked into her in the halls? It was worth it for the scathing editorials she had the pleasure of writing about them; the icing on the Torch cake was that most of the time, they didn't even understand what she was saying. 

But they were all staring at her, which Chloe found very uncomfortable and disconcerting. Soon a group of girls joined them at their table, and one of them pointed in her direction, sniggering slightly as he did so. 

Chloe's eyes narrowed. She would recognise that face, put a name to it, then made sure something bad happened to her. 

Which sounded like she was going to put a hit out on her, and she shook the mental image away. It was way too inane a thought to be having at a time like this, especially at the next instant when she was startled by Lex as he snuggled up beside her. 

His closeness made her entire body tingle. "That's the second time in two days I've caught your attention wandering in my company." His leg slid up hers playfully. "I don't think anyone since my nanny has done that." 

"Huh?" Chloe asked, her attention still hazily making the transition between unpleasant murdering a jock's skanky girlfriend thoughts to accepting the reality of Lex sliding his leg up her calf. It kind of tingled and made her shiver at the same time. She shook herself out of her daze. "Way to take the spark out of the moment Lex. Bring up the nanny imagery." 

He smiled playfully, his leg slowly retreating down to the floor. "Well I could have brought up my mother, but then that would have been too oedipal." 

Chloe broke out into a smile, somehow understanding what he was saying despite the fact that she had no idea what oedipal was. "Let's not be having those thoughts right now." She leaned forward out of his reach and scooped up her mug. "This is a mocha right?" 

Lex mirrored her movements and sipped at his mug. "Extra cream." 

"Good." Chloe leaned back again, snuggling closer to Lex's chest as she sipped contently. Hey, if she was going to have her very own sexy bald guy, she might as well get used to enjoying the perks, right? 

She let her mind ponder that for a while as she savoured the taste of the creamy mocha in her mouth. Was he 'hers' in the way that she already thought of herself as 'his'? Although the idea of belonging to someone seemed a little too medieval, Chloe found herself surprisingly liking it. She knew that it was probably a little too sentimental for her normally snarky everyday self to admit for long, but it kind of felt good to be part of something instead of being crusader reporter gal all the time. While Chloe liked to think she was strong, independent and free-spirited, she might more than occasionally appreciate having someone there by her side to take care of her when she most wanted it. Chloe might not have been a damsel in distress in need of protection, but it was a nice thought to know that if she wanted the protection it could be there in the form of Lex.

She glanced up at Lex, trying to picture him in a shining suit of armour or at the least, making her laugh and smile in her time of need. Did he think of her the way she thought of him, she wondered, as the question echoed in the still silence of her mind.

Lex didn't seem to have the need to fill in the gap in conversation with inane small talk, and Chloe was more than willing to just absorb the utter comfort that existed between her and Lex. 

She sighed happily. "What did you get?" She asked at last, breaking their silence. 

Far from looking disconcerted at having his reverie broken, it seemed to Chloe that his gaze didn't shift at all. It was as if he had been in the moment all along, trying to absorb as much of the calmness and serenity as he could before it inevitably dissipated. "Just a short black." 

"Lex?" She asked quietly, looking up at him with shining hazel eyes. 

His pale blue eyes looked down at hers solemnly, although a hint of a smile graced his pale face. "Yes Chloe?" 

"Why do you like me?" Her eyes widened as she realised that she had actually said that out loud. Talk about a loaded question squared to the power of infinity. 

His expression reflected the right-fieldness of the question. Chloe sensed his body tense slightly before relaxing, again allowing it to melt into hers. Chloe was suddenly assaulted by the way Lex smelt tonight. He smelt nice ... clean and fresh but with a hint of something else, a slightly spicy, exotic aroma that lingered long after he was gone. It reminded her of something safe yet dangerous at the same time and was Chloe _that _far gone into the world of Lex adoration that she was waxing lyrical about his aftershave slash expensive imported cologne now? 

Get a grip Chloe. She was exhibiting way too many signs of teenage infatuation for her comfort. She was above all of that, wasn't she? She was Chloe Sullivan, investigative reporter on the rise, that was, once she learned to behave properly at interviews. 

Her momentary obsession with eau de Lex had distracted her from her initial question, which Lex still hadn't answered. An apprehensive gnawing sensation grated at the bottom of her stomach. 

"You know that was a question, right? Feel free to jump in at any time with, you know, an answer." 

He smiled almost whimsically, and Chloe was caught by the spark that ignited behind his normally controlled eyes. The force of emotion in his gaze almost seared her with its intensity, and Chloe had the uncomfortable feeling that Lex was in the process of funnelling his considerable energies into one single thing - her. 

The feeling made her itch. 

Finally he broke the silence, his voice soft and silky in her ear. "I like you because you're unlike anyone I've ever met in my entire life." He paused, and Chloe was slightly amazed to realise that she was leaning so far into him that she felt every vibration of his body as he breathed. Their intimacy threatened to shatter her composure. "You ... live life for yourself." He continued. "You don't care what I think. You say what you want to say to me and it's refreshing, to have someone like that in my life. Refreshing and exciting." 

"Okay, so far you've got me and Lana running the Lex race neck and neck. Why ..." Chloe asked uncertainly, hating the tell-tale trembling in her voice, "I mean, why me and not Lana?" 

Lex actually laughed, and for one blinding moment of panic Chloe thought she had read the situation completely and utterly wrong. It subsided when he said simply. "You're vivid." 

"Vivid? Like ... colourful?" He thought she was colourful? Chloe absently fingered an errant strand of hair in confusion. Maybe Lex was colour blind, seeing as Lana, with her pale skin, dark raven hair and eyes the colour of some magical element that transcended mere mortal description was probably the very embodiment of colour and vitality. Whereas Chloe was more the every day run-of-the-mill blonde with occasionally nice hazel eyes. There was nothing overly colourful about her. 

"No." He smiled indulgently. "You're vivid. Lively." He paused. "In Latin it's 'vivere' - to be alive ... " He entwined his slender fingers around hers, stroking a strand of her hair fondly. "You're like the colour I've lacked for most of my life. I lived in muted shades before I met you. When you're near me I feel ... _alive_. Awake to the world." She felt herself melting in the wonderful afterglow at those beautiful, magnetic words. 

Chloe couldn't help but roll her eyes in mock horror at her own sentimentality. She was giving teenage cynics the world over a very bad name. 

She tittered quietly, feeling the need divert attention away from the fact that she was well, feeling so overly emotional. It was a very strange sensation to say the least. "That isn't like a very unique line you've just thought up, right? 'Cause I got to tell you, that would pretty much have all the girls lining up to get a piece of that famous Luthor charm." 

Evidently Lex agreed, as he laughed despite himself. "Okay, that might have come out a little too ... strong." 

The humour fell off her face as Chloe was assaulted by the almost tangible wave of emotion she was feeling for Lex. It battered her with its intensity; she felt adrift in a sea of her own making. She swallowed, before she whispered quietly. "I like strong." 

Lex must have caught the emotional lilt in her voice, because he tightened his hold on her, nuzzling into the crook of her neck in response. He chuckled, sounding surprised by his admissions. "I guess I saw enough Lana Langs to last me a lifetime in Metropolis. Not that any of the girls - or women," he corrected himself, "were anywhere near as nice as our Lana is. They were urbane, polished, sophisticated - and manipulative. They were ... beauty without substance." He paused, and Chloe was surprised that she had been lulled into a sort of half-daze by his mesmerising words. Talk about incredible voice modulation. Chloe knew that she would have found Lex supernaturally sexy even if he was reading the phone directory. 

Her brain lurched back to attention as he continued. "You are ... all substance Chloe. Beauty and substance." 

She giggled, inhaling the unique smell of Lex that exuded from his body. God this man was sexy. "You know you have a way with words, Lex Luthor. Slightly heavy on the cheese, but ... good all the same." 

"I know." He said quietly, his playful side coming out again. "A certain gorgeous blonde reporter-in-the-making told me so." With that he reached out and smoothed his hand over the contours of her face, making Chloe ache for the incredible warmth that his touch brought to her being. This just felt so comfortable - and so _right_. 

She could definitely get used to this, she thought, as she lost herself in the magical tranquillity of the moment. 

(c) August 2002


	23. Part Twenty Three

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Three ~*~*

Chloe yawned, blinking rapidly as she tried to get some moisture into her eyes. 

She couldn't possibly be feeling tired right now. Was she some sort of crazy person or something? Here she was, luxuriating in the unique sensation of being ensconced in Lex's arms for the better part of the evening, getting as close to him as any person could hope for in the space of one night in a very public place - and she was _yawning_? 

Oh this couldn't possibly be true. Chloe Sullivan, infamous for pulling all-nighters at the drop of a hat, was feeling tired? Maybe she just needed another cup of coffee. 

Either that or she needed a lobotomy stat, because she clearly was heading for the Metropolis Institution for the Mentally Deranged, feeling tired and sleepy and other mundane normal human emotions despite the fact that Lex smelt so tingly fresh even after sitting in the same spot for what seemed like hours at the Talon, talking to her like he was really entranced by her school girl charms and not even pretending to notice how obscenely boring she could be on a zero caffeine intake. She had only had a cup of mocha, which wasn't really even one full caffeine shot, and for a gal who needed a full bag of coffee per cup of water, that meant that it hadn't really been too much of a pick-me-up.

"Want to head home?" Lex shifted slightly, giving her room to sit up. Which she didn't because duh, did she really want to go anywhere that wouldn't involve Lex wrapping his arms around her body and making her feel like the only person in the room? 

She made a curious muffled sound in the negative, swivelling her body so that she could bury her face into his chest. Her slightly child-like gesture made Lex smile fondly down at her. "Okay, in non-Chloe that means no, right?" 

Chloe smiled into his chest, if possible burying deeper. She absently stroked the smooth material of his shirt, delighting in the cool, slippery sensation of the fabric against her warm skin. 

She couldn't believe they had been sitting (well, reclining) here for so long. Initially she had dragged Lex into the Talon for her obligatory coffee pit stop after their dinner and movie, but they had ended up staying here for the rest of the night. Now the normally bustling atmosphere of the coffee house was grinding down to a slower, mellower pace, and Chloe had to admit that if she wasn't here with Lex, she would be exiting stage right to avoid being mistaken for someone who actually had a social life.

But who cared what she was mistaken as, as long as she was with Lex Luthor? 

Lex chuckled suddenly. "You know Chloe, I'm really starting to like that wiggling you're doing. You're kind of like a very sexy cat." Chloe's quickly eyes snapped open as her cheeks started to flame beet red. Oh dear God, he was right. She was becoming cat-ish, and meow-y and sex kitten-ish ... and that wasn't Chloe. Chloe wasn't any of those things because firstly, she wasn't _sexy_, secondly, she was a serious student of journalism with integrity and intelligence to spare and thirdly - she wasn't sexy _at all_. 

She knew it. She was in some really spaced out dream that her brilliant yet obviously deranged mind had concocted. Either that, or she had just had a horrible accident and she was lying at Metropolis General suffering from a coma and this was her brain's way of telling her it was okay to be in a coma and - 

Chloe found herself sitting bolt upright, beads of sweat starting to form on her brow. Lex's startled eyes bored into hers, before his expression gave way to a gentler curiosity that was only mildly amused at her sudden antics. "Was it something I said?" He asked wryly. 

Chloe gulped before venturing, "No, with a big side dish of ... yes." She admitted grudgingly. 

He sat up straighter, swinging his legs so that his body was upright. "Which part brought on the side dish?" 

Chloe narrowed her eyes, trying to detect a hint of mockery in his voice. This man was way too practiced at hiding his emotions, something she made a mental note to try to probe later. But not in any physical way, which was so not the point at the moment. 

She cleared her throat self-consciously. "The ... part where you said the sexy thing." She blushed even more furiously, more than what Chloe thought was humanly possible. Clearly her body was determined to transcend the bounds of human behaviour tonight. She sighed pitifully. "I'm just ... not used to it. I mean, being called nice things. You know ... I just ... Oh forget it. I'm an idiot." 

A flicker of surprise illuminated Lex's eyes, as if he was just coming to the realisation that Chloe was Chloe - a 17 year old high school junior whose track record with guys included two lame psycho meteor freaks and possibly one Clark Kent. In other words - she had absolutely zero experience with guys in general, let alone guys with the experience of Lex Luthor. 

"Of course." Chloe wasn't sure whether he was saying it to himself or to her. She had to remind herself that as smart and as worldly as Lex was, he was just a guy, prone to reading situations wrong. Besides the obvious fact that he wasn't a mind reader specialising in Chloe 101. 

"I'm an idiot?" She asked, half-scared at the reply she was going to get.

"What?" Lex dragged his attention back to the present, his pale blue orbs focusing fully on Chloe's confused hazel ones. "What - no." He ran his hand absently across his bare scalp, one of the first nervous gestures that Chloe had seen Lex use. "It's just that - I should have realised." 

"Realised what?" She asked, curiosity overriding every other feeling churning inside her confused mind at the moment. 

He looked deeply into her eyes, unblinking. "Realised that you're so young, still." 

Chloe blinked, trying to digest what he was trying to say. She was well on the way to grabbing the random strings of thought that was now floating in the air between them and weaving them into one coherent strand, but her mind was dulled by lack of sleep and also - she was caffeine deficient. A serious medical condition in the world of Chloe. 

"Well ... is that a problem?" 

There was a slight pause, causing Chloe's breathing to hitch slightly. A mantra of 'please say no' echoed in her mind. 

"No." He said, and Chloe was relieved by the decisiveness in his voice. At least he didn't have doubts or second thoughts. "It's just ... I keep forgetting how young you are Chloe. How impressionable." He looked into her eyes, his expression for once so artlessly honest and open it succeeded in knocking all air completely out of her body. "I promise I won't forget that." 

"Um ... okay." She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to say. The conversation had turned very serious all of a sudden, and she had the uncomfortable impression that he had just committed to something she couldn't quite grasp. A phantom concept that refused to materialise in front of her, a pledge to her to do something ... but she couldn't understand it. 

She opened her mouth to ask him but quickly shut it again. Somehow it seemed intensely private, something that Chloe didn't want to intrude on. It was enough that he felt so much for her that he had momentarily let his walls down, to make her a promise that she knew he would keep. He looked so earnest and serious at the moment, she hadn't the heart to disturb that conviction. 

"I'm starting to get a bit tired Lex." She grinned apologetically, yawning to emphasise her point. "I'm sorry. But for the official record - I had a great time." 

He leaned in, giving her a long, savouring kiss. "For the record, I had a great time too." With that he helped her up and they walked away from their table, Chloe's face radiant as she leaned against Lex for support. 

(c) September 2002


	24. Part Twenty Four

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Four ~*~*

Chloe shivered involuntarily in the bitingly cold night air, instinctively rubbing her hands together for warmth. "Okay, okay, last question - I swear." Her hazel eyes twinkled in the light of the dimly lit side walk as she turned to confront Lex. "He-Man, or She-Ra?" She giggled outrageously, urged on by the irritated but faintly adoring look on Lex's face. 

They had finally succeeded in dragging themselves out of the Talon, where they had been lojacked to each other for what had seemed like hours, talking about anything and everything; but to Chloe it had seemed more like a lifetime. Her life before Lex's wonderful entrance in her own personal sand box seemed but a distant dream, foreign in its very Lex-less state. 

Forever more Chloe knew that she would only be referring to two phases in her life - pre-Lex and during-Lex. 

She steadfastly refused to think of a possible third phase - post-Lex. She didn't need any of that unique brand of non-cheer right now. 

"Chloe." Lex said despite his mock exasperation, playfully shaking her shoulders. "I'm a man." 

"That's _mildly_ obvious." Chloe smirked, her appreciative eyes roving down the length of his body, appreciating the way that his well-tailored pants wrapped around his slender though well-built lower half-body. Within the dim recesses of her mind, the part that was still functioning in the company of this man, she wondered at her new-found confidence and brashness. She would never have said anything resembling what she had just said to anyone else; that she felt comfortable enough with him in such a short space of time spoke volumes for their instinctive connection. 

Lex valiantly ignored her obvious look. "I'm a man," he continued despite Chloe's now not-so-subtle tittering, "naturally I wanted to be He-Man." He sighed in martyr-like fashion, although Chloe was observant enough to see a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. 

God the man even had sexy lips. She would probably stake her house on the certainty that Lex was sexy ... all over. 

Wow, she was officially a lunatic. The newly crowned maniacal president of the Lex Luthor Appreciation Society, who incidentally, lived somewhere south of what she liked to call the gutter. 

Not that noticing the overall sexiness of Lex was crazy or anything, or even from her current perspective, all that unusual. It was just that this shouldn't have been happening to Chloe Sullivan. Chloe wasn't anyone's idea of a good country girl, or any sort of good girl in general, but she hoped that she had some integrity and morals which would allow her to occasionally be high moral ground girl. But now ... what had happened to her? She was this animalistic almost-growling girl panting at the very sexy feet of Lex Luthor. Although panting ... feet ... 

Okay, she really had to get her mind out of the gutter this instant. 

"I'm sorry Lex. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just ..." Despite her profession, she let out a crystal peal of laughter that rang clearly in the cool night air, "I just can't imagine _you _playing with action figures. You must have been so cute." She emphasised by giving his hand an abrupt squeeze, then letting out another hearty laugh. 

His playful swagger came back with full force. "And I'm not cute now?" He asked snidely, wiggling his brows for emphasis.

Chloe suddenly danced whimsically away from him, spinning a few times as she grinned insanely. She felt inexplicably light. She had just had a wonderful night, with a wonderful, sexy-as-hell man and she wanted to dance. Because this couldn't last, this state of perfection and contentment that now permeated her being. She felt like swirling around and around until she felt like hurling, wanted something to make her stop feeling this way - feeling that Lex Luthor was the only guy in the world for her, and that she was nothing without him. She was afraid of the way he made her feel, so strong and carefree yet so cared for - she wanted to somehow spin it out of herself. 

But she didn't want this night to end. 

Chloe spun until she felt herself growing dizzy, her head spinning in confusion. "You're not cute." She said at last, panting from the intense burst of exercise. "You're gorgeous." His eyes lit up, a spark of fire that kindled to visibly grow white-hot. "And you're obviously insane," she added daringly, "because you like me." 

Lex quickly caught up to her and wrapped her roughly in his arms, his eyes intensely peering into hers. Chloe's breath caught at the suddenness of his movement, combining with the cold night air to leave her breathless and panting from exertion. 

His lips were inches away from hers, his breath almost searing her skin with its warmth. "Well then, I must be insane." He leaned in almost desperately, catching Chloe completely by surprise by the passion he now unleashed onto her. Not that she had gotten used to the whole being kissed by Lex thing as yet - could a girl _ever_ get used to it? 

The question seemed strangely academic, given the fact that at this very instant, his mouth was plundering hers like they were the last two people on the face of the planet, and if Lex hadn't been gripping Chloe with such surprising force, she would have been sprawled on the side walk even now. To say that she was surprised and a whole lot scared was just the tip of the very large iceberg of her emotions. 

He pulled away as suddenly as he had kissed her, leaving Chloe confused and gasping from a curious mixture of excitement and oxygen deprivation. She was slightly comforted by the fact that he looked as stunned and amazed as she felt; because she would have been officially _freaked out _if he had just done that and had a sane person reason for it. Her mind was awhirl with a million questions all vying to be asked, so she said the only thing she could legitimately say in her position. 

"Wow." Chloe breathed, as she brought her fingers to her slightly swollen lips, pursing them carefully together. She looked up at him, a half-pleading expression in her eyes. "What was that?" 

Lex shrugged mutely, his pale blue eyes still reeling from his actions. He took several deep breaths before venturing a reply. "I think ... I think you're starting to grow on me." 

Chloe scrunched up her nose in confusion. "What, like a particularly blonde kind of fungus?" 

He grinned, dispelling the tension that had erupted with his passionate kiss. "Ah - no. What I meant was," He leaned into her, pressing his body tightly against hers as he enveloped her in his arms, "it'd be great if you could stick around." 

Chloe stared quizzically into the empty space in front of her, before nuzzling into the crook of his neck and trying to puzzle out his meaning. He was saying much less than what he was feeling, she was sure of it. "I'm not going anywhere." She whispered, a frown momentarily crossing her face in confusion. 

Lex just hugged her tightly in reply.

(c) September 2002


	25. Part Twenty Five

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Five ~*~*

"So how much are your promises worth these days Chloe?" 

Chloe, contentedly and securely enveloped in Lex's strong arms as they walked towards his car, expelled an exasperated sigh at the familiar voice behind her. 

Damn it. In all the Lex, Clark and Lana vortex of confusion, she had completely forgotten to call Pete. She hadn't even checked her messages yet. 

Had she promised that she would call him as soon as she got back? It had completely slipped her mind, reminding Chloe of the single undeniable fact that she was indeed, a very, very bad person whose promises were worth absolutely nothing, even in places that didn't have currency. 

"Pete." She turned around, subtly shaking Lex's arms off her. "What are you doing here?" She was suddenly acutely conscious of Pete's antagonism towards the Luthors, and now that Lex was here and more importantly, with _her_, well - Chloe knew that it didn't take a genius to figure out that in Pete's universe, she had just committed a cardinal sin for which her soul would most probably be eternally damned. 

He ignored her question. Pete's normally smiling countenance was gloomy and dark in the dim light, his eyes narrowed in heightened suspicion. Through her rapidly plummeting mood, Chloe had to admit that she hadn't seen him sound so annoyed with her for a very long time, not since she had tricked him out of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich by betting that Clark could stand on his head for more than ten minutes back in eighth grade. 

Chloe forced a smile, hoping that she could somehow bulldoze through Pete's obviously not-so-bright mood. "Hi Pete." She said brightly, her eyes darting furtively over his face. 

Pete was unfazed by her forced cheer, crossing his arms as he stopped to survey the scene in front of him. He carefully took in Chloe, dressed up in her casual yet (she hoped) sexy way, took in the fact that she was standing so close to Lex that they could be mistaken for being joined at the hip by the denture crowd and finally, taking in Lex's slightly possessive posture beside her. 

His eyes narrowed. Behind her, Chloe sensed Lex tense in apprehension, and she had to force down a groan. The entire tension-filled atmosphere reeked of a B-grade western, and not even a cult one at that. 

"Pete, I was going to call you." She sighed, hoping that her admission would dispel some of the murderous intent in her friend's eyes. "I got back really late last night ... and all this stuff happened and ... I've been really busy today doing Clark and Lana repairs and ..." She sighed again in resignation. "You got me. I'm a bad friend, okay? I'm a bad, bad person whose promises are worth zilch and you should never trust me again." 

Pete softened at her obvious distress. A little of the tenseness seemed to drain out of him, leaving him looking just really hurt and betrayed. Chloe thought that she preferred the angry-as-hell Pete to the hurt looking Pete any day. That way, they could have had a screaming match, call it a draw and walk away relatively unscathed. This openly hurt Pete was all badness. 

"Chloe ..." He glanced at Lex, who seemed resolute in planting himself in semi-harm's way. Not that Chloe thought for a moment that Pete was capable of physically hurting Lex - at least, not right now, but she definitely didn't want any unpleasantness to go down between two of the most important people in her life. That would spell disaster with a capital Suck.

"Chloe," Pete continued, eyeing Lex as if he was a particularly ugly variety of insect, "you know I'm not like that. It would've been nice if you had called, that's all. Instead of running into you lojacked to a Luthor and all." 

Chloe ignored the last barb. Pete deserved to have his free snark at her expense - for the time being at least. 

"I'm sorry I didn't call Pete." She said, after she had paused to nervously gauge the upcoming Lex and Pete gladiatorial battle for supremacy. "It was thoughtless and ... completely uncool." 

Pete nodded, his attention fixed on Lex beside her, who was peering coolly back at Pete in return. There seemed to be some sort of stand-off between the two, and Chloe fancied that they were communicating subconsciously in the lame style of alpha males. 

Chloe made a quick mental note to herself to beat up the next guy who displayed such Neanderthalism in front of her. It was the 21st century after all, and women had earned the right to club men senseless for being stupid. 

Finally Chloe had to speak up. She was freezing to death, between the weather and the coldness of the looks shooting between Pete and Lex. She would just have to accept the fact that there wasn't going to be any bonding taking place between them tonight. "Okay, let's not -" 

Chloe was interrupted by a loud whistle that erupted into the air near them. All three of them whirled around, looking for the direction of the noise. 

Chloe rolled her eyes in genuine exasperation. As if cold Lex and frozen Pete weren't enough for her considerable talents to handle, a group of jocks had materialised across the street from them, flanked by their more-than-slightly drunk girlfriends. It was nothing that Chloe normally couldn't handle, but more upsetting was the fact that it was the same group of football idiots that had stared so rudely at her back at the Talon. 

"Great." She muttered under her breath. Even a non-genius like her knew where this was heading. 

"Hey Sullivan." The head jock, whose name escaped her back at the coffee house and continued to escape her now, stepped arrogantly out of the comfort of his admiring pack and taunted them. "You looking for some action?" He jeered. 

Chloe sneered but made no reply, suppressing the instinct to hurl a very heavy object in his direction. Violence wasn't going to solve anything - except maybe for his errant stupidity.

He stepped closer and this time, both Lex and Pete stepped forward, blocking her from view. 

"Brian, you're drunk man. Back off." Pete said in the deadly quiet. 

"What are you going to do, bench warmer?" Brian the jock taunted Pete. "Beat me up?. 'Cause I got to tell ya, you ain't much to look at. I'm thinking I can take you easy." 

"Just try it." Pete gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing in the darkness. 

Chloe opened her mouth to say something, but Lex beat her to it. "Look, Brian is it?" The jock nodded drunkenly, starting to totter. "It's going to be better for all of us if you just went home with your friends and cool down, okay?" 

Brian sneered, pointing a drunken finger at Lex. "I _know _who you are, Luthor." He stared menacingly down at them as the rest of his buddies crowded about him. "You think you own this town." He switched his attention back onto Chloe. "You might even _own_ a dumb blonde or two, but one day you're going to get yours."

Chloe placed a restraining hand on Lex. Amazingly, Lex's eyes had widened in barely checked anger, and he actually looked in danger of losing the cool control he had always been able to display in front of her. 

She smiled, rolling her eyes airily. "You _think_? That's a novel idea." 

"Watch it slut." The rest of his group sniggered, egging him on. "How else could you get _Mr Luthor _here with you if you weren't putting out?" 

Chloe gaped open-mouthed, but try as she might, she couldn't force her voice to function. 

That was _it_. The metaphorical gloves were coming off now that he had just called her - she didn't even want to say it within the confines of her brain. 

Pete looked like he was about to bust a blood vessel, and Chloe could see Lex's Adam's apple bobbing frantically in a last ditch effort to restrain his temper. Chloe knew that she had to do something before they all ended up at the hospital, or at the local lock-up, because either way if she didn't do something now, there was going to be one massive fight of the horrible kind. 

She stepped out from the shadows behind Pete and Lex, throwing both of them a warning look. "Don't even think about it." She whispered as she stepped past them. 

"Look, jock strap." She sneered bitingly at Brian, disdain clearly etched on her face. "I'd bother to verbal judo with you, except for the fact that I only do it with people that I _like_. And also, I've got better things to do with my Saturday night than teach a brainless jock how to string enough words together to form a proper insult. Now," Chloe said snidely, glancing at the girls crowded behind Brian, "take your circus 'hos and crawl back to the barely primordial soup you call home, and next time, when you decide to venture out into the world where nobody gives a shit about anything you do, just think how pleasant the world would be if you actually understood it." 

And that was it. Chloe had said what she had wanted to say, and consequences be damned. 

Brian was staring bug-eyed at her, trying to form a coherent sentence but not really succeeding. Without deigning to wait for a reaction from him or any of his cohorts, Chloe held her head up higher and walked away, tugging the clearly flabbergasted forms of Lex and Pete after her with sheer force of will. 

Chloe finally turned around when the trio rounded the corner, poking her head around the side of the building to check that the horrible hounds of jockdom had disbanded, or at the very least, had been left floundering by the sheer magnificence of her snarky rant.

Satisfied that all was well - which was to say that they weren't being pursued by a pack of rabid teenage jocks thirsting for murder and mayhem, Chloe let out an explosive sigh of relief. It had been touch and go there with the whole Lex losing control and Pete looking like he couldn't care less whether he committed murder or not thing. All in all, she thought the situation had turned out rather well, even if she did say so herself. 

She spun around to say just that, only to be confronted by the darkly unimpressed expressions on both Lex and Pete's faces. In fact, over and above the unimpressed vibe that she was now intensely receiving, Lex actually looked slightly angry. Which was a completely new feeling for Chloe to be confronted with, given all the Lex-love she had been the lucky recipient of lately. 

Lex glared at her, hands on his hips and his anger barely held in check. "Chloe, what the _hell_ were you thinking?" Her hazel eyes widened at being addressed in such a tone. She opened her mouth to protest, but nothing would come out. 

She was just that surprised. 

Chloe resisted the urge to flinch from his flinty gaze. She turned appealingly to Pete, who had unwittingly mirrored Lex's stance, hands on hips and looking like a dark storm cloud had taken residence on his face. She would have found their manly posturing funny, if not for the whole Lex and Pete being deadly angry at her thing. 

"She wasn't thinking at all, were you Chloe?" 

"What?" She protested, wanting to shrink from their twin glares. "I handled the situation, didn't I?" She looked from Lex to Pete who remained stonily silent. They made an interesting tableau, Lex's marble smooth skin and lean frame contrasting with Pete's milky dark skin and smaller build as they wore identical expressions of disapproval and exasperation. "What, I was supposed to stand by while you two were jock-handled by a bunch of drunken lunatics in the middle of the street?" 

"Yes." Lex said simply, his words crisp in the cool night air. "Instead of putting yourself out there to be a target for those ... drunken lunatics." His eyes shot daggers at her. 

"Yeah, plus Brian Kingston is a first class jerk, and I would have beat the crap out of him." Pete continued, his eyes steely in the darkness. 

Chloe looked from Lex to Pete, then back again. "Ha." She half-shouted melodramatically, crossing her arms in defence. "You guys are just ticked off because I damaged your manly studly-ness by stepping in and actually defending myself. Did you _not _hear what that arrogant jerk called me?" She faced both of them, who both managed to look distinctly resigned to her tirade. "So, I exercised my 21st century right by standing up for myself. Obviously that makes me a raving lunatic who completely deserves to get committed because God forbid, we don't want to unleash a girl on the world who can actually take care of herself." 

She chanced a glance towards Lex and Pete, who seemed to have suddenly come to some sort of strange, manly understanding between them. Chloe felt like a kid who had been caught red-handed with the entire contents of a very large and very well-stocked cookie jar, and was now waiting on her punishment. This was so unfair. She knew that they were having manly hysterics because they cared deeply about her, but really - couldn't they get it into their thick skulls that she could take care of herself? 

Maybe they were developing Clark's strange mental condition of not actually having a clue. 

"Chloe." Lex said at last, coming forward and taking both of her small hands into his, squeezing them gently. His concerned blue eyes looked deeply into hers, while Pete resolutely kept his gaze plastered onto the side walk in front of him. "I just don't want you to get hurt." He cleared his throat uncomfortably, rolling his eyes as he turned to glance at Pete. "_We _don't want you to get hurt." 

"That's right Chlo." Pete broke out into a patented smile, complete with dazzling pearly whites. "I don't want you haunting my ass and asking me why I didn't stop you pulling the all kinds of wacky you just pulled." He sighed, running his hands through his head. "Well, I better get going. Veronica's a-waiting." He grinned infectiously at the thought of his waiting coffee date, before it faded a little as he took in the sight of Lex's tight grasp on Chloe's hands. He looked penetratingly at Lex, who returned his look with a steely gaze of his own. 

Pete was the first one to break eye contact. "Yeah well ... I'll see you guys later then." With a small wave he turned around and quickly disappeared from sight. 

Chloe looked down at her feet, unwilling to meet Lex's gaze. In a way, she was scared by the force of emotions that were so obviously driving both of them into behaving in ways that weren't quite normal. Almost, but not quite normal. She felt breathless and out of control, and a whole lot scared.

Lex tilted her head up towards him, forcing Chloe to meet his intense, penetrating gaze. His beautiful blue eyes glittered with naked emotion, knocking all the remaining breath out of Chloe with its unfettered rawness. 

"Don't ever do that to me again Chloe." His voice had descended into one of husky determination, although Chloe couldn't really be sure whether that was entirely due to an excess of manly studlyness on Lex's part, and not to any overriding relief that they had reached a sort of understanding between them. "I need you all in one piece." 

The exposed expression on his face spoke volumes for the way he felt about her. There was nothing Chloe could say to such a powerful statement of fact, so she didn't even try to reply. 

(c) September 2002


	26. Part Twenty Six

****

"Everything In This World"

by Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Six ~*~*

Chloe looked up sharply, reaching forward to turn down the volume of her stereo. She thought she had just heard the sound of the door bell ringing. Either that or she had finally achieved a bizarre form of rapid ageing that made her hear imaginary bells ring in her ears.   
  
She cocked her ear and listened carefully in the ensuing stillness.   
  
She was right. She distinctly heard the sound of the front door being opened, followed by barely audible voices. She briefly thought that it was Clark or Lana coming for a quick fly-by before the algebra quiz tomorrow, before she recollected that they had arranged to have a little one-on-one coaching session at Lana's tonight. Which was the freakishly nice couple's way of plastering a 'do not disturb, macking in progress' sign on their foreheads.   
  
Maybe it was Pete, coming in a blaze of caffeine induced panic to alternately drive Chloe crazy and commiserate with her on their mutual incompetence at all things math. They both had the lucky disadvantage of being equally sucky at algebra and calculus and other branches of math that they just happened to suck in, and despite the intense study session they had crammed in after school today with Clark, she knew that it would not be beyond the realm of possibility for Pete to be staring blankly at his notes right now, wishing for some big chunk of meteor rock to fall onto his house, thereby giving him an airtight excuse to get out of the quiz tomorrow.   
  
She mentally shrugged. If it had been for her, her dad would have come up by now.   
  
She dragged her attention back onto the open books in front of her. She stared down at her math notes, chewing hard on her pen as her forehead scrunched in concentration. She was an absolute dunce when it came to math, and she knew it. English and languages she could handle despite not being terribly interested in thee's and thou's and damsels in distress who couldn't move due to excessive corsets and riding side ways on horses. But math? Thank God she had Clark the farm boy math genius as her best friend, who she could always call up or message at some ungodly hour and actually get an intelligent sounding answer in reply.   
  
She kind of _really _liked Clark that way.   
  
Chloe smiled to herself. She had lately started to use another resource open to her - the nice, gorgeous, sexy-as-hell alternative in the form of Lex, who didn't actually mind answering inane questions on high school chemistry and biology and other ologies even though it probably lowered his opinion of her in his eyes, since she was almost as sucky at science as she was at math.   
  
She frowned, making a mental note to ask him about that the next time she talked to him.   
  
Chloe let out an explosive sigh of exasperation, loudly thumping the book closed in front of her. That was _it_. In addition to being mind-numbingly bored out of her not-so-large brain, she was growing curious as to what exactly was happening downstairs. She and her dad weren't exactly the heart of Smallville society, which was to say that they didn't really have visitors all that often.   
  
She got up and stretched before making her way out of her room. Voices drifted through to her, so she carefully tip-toed towards the source of the conversation, not feeling any twinges of guilt whatsoever at eavesdropping on a potentially private conversation. She reasoned that reporters were exempt from that weird society rule which dictated that eavesdropping was necessarily bad and will land its perpetrator in front of the gates of Hell. Plus, a lot of times it was really interesting.   
  
" ... can call me Lex when we're not at the Plant, Gabe."   
  
Chloe swore to herself. She peered around the corner to make sure she wasn't having a really bad hallucination involving her dad and Lex having an intense conversation regarding her because God, how embarrassing and out-of-this-world awkward would that have been? It was bad enough that she was going out with her father's boss; it probably heaped a whole entire layer of weirdness on the cake of weird to think that Lex was probably the only person in the entire town that Chloe's dad would not have been happy for her to date, with the exception of the psycho drifter that was always hanging around Smallville's main streets.   
  
Her father seemed to have this weird idea that Chloe was going to get hurt by Lex, judging solely of course by his well-known reputation of playboy-ism and of the untold amounts of wealth at his disposal, thereby making him an unsuitable candidate for his charmingly intelligent slash obsessive reporter-to-be daughter. 

Because that made absolute sense. Never mind the undisputable fact that Lex, with his easy charm and out-of-this-world intelligence, could have had any woman he wanted on this side of the universe.   
  
They had already had two explosive 'discussions' about the Lex issue in the last week, which had ended up with both of them drawing battle lines and walking away before anything *_really_* bad had been said. She and her dad were in many ways very dissimilar, since he was often so mild mannered and easy to please. But on explosive temper tantrums she and Gabe Sullivan were pretty much two very identical peas in a pod.   
  
In the end they had come to a tacit stand-off, pending further developments. Chloe figured that as long as she was happy and nothing bad happened, her dad would eventually cool off and come around to her point of view. Which roughly translated in Chloe's mind to 'she'll get her own way eventually'.   
  
It served to explain why she was feeling such a mounting tide of panic in her insides, threatening to swallow her whole. What could they possibly be talking about? Also, how long had she left them down there? And more importantly, why hadn't her dad come to get her?   
  
Chloe swallowed. Curiosity got the better of her panic, and she cautiously peered around the corner to spy on the scene in front of her.   
  
Her dad looked supremely uncomfortable, shifting his feet awkwardly on the spot. "Look, I might as well come right out and say it Mr Luth - ah, Lex." He corrected himself hastily as he continued more forcefully. "You may be my boss, and I may like working with you at the Plant, especially after how you saved everyone's jobs at the plant, but when it comes to my daughter - I just want you to know that if you do anything to hurt her, I'll come after you, boss or no boss. My little girl comes first."   
  
"That's perfectly understandable Gabe." Lex replied pleasantly, in the same laid-back tone as he would have used if he had been conversing about the weather. "I wouldn't have expected otherwise."   
  
Her dad looked slightly taken aback by Lex's pleasantness. He seemed to have expected a reprimand of something along the lines of 'go clean the bathrooms with a very small toothbrush for your insolence'. Chloe couldn't resist smirking into the shadows, silently doing mental cartwheels and intoning a 'go Lex' cheer inside her mind. Obviously her dad hadn't expected Lex to have been so understanding, or dare she say it, so human. Gabe Sullivan was usually quite good at judging characters, but like so many people in Smallville, he did have a certain blind spot when it came to the Luthors which granted, wasn't all that incomprehensible given their previous track record of shady buy outs and even shadier deals.   
  
"Well, just so we understand each other ... Lex." Her father added quietly, his hand pressed thoughtfully under his chin.   
  
Chloe wondered whether their verbal posturing was over, and whether it was safe enough for her to come out without getting hit by a random jibe. It seemed that between her dad, Lex and Pete, almost all the men in her life lately were given to manly displays of over protectiveness, which on reflection wasn't really an all that bad thing. It kind of felt nice actually, although Chloe was adamant that she would go to her grave before divulging that little piece of non-feminist information to any of them.   
  
Her dad seemed satisfied with Lex's response, or more accurately, his relatively calm acceptance of the fact that he would physically disassemble Lex from limb to limb if he improbably caused Chloe to get hurt in any shape or form. Which she guessed in the inane world of machoistic pretensions qualified as a tacit understanding between civilised men. She wanted to snigger at that realisation, if not for the whole being touched by their concern warm and fuzzy that was spreading slowly throughout her being.   
  
"So ... I suppose you're here to see Chloe?" Her dad asked Lex, sticking his hands in the pockets of the casual sweats he was currently decked out in.   
  
"If that's all right with you Gabe." Lex smiled amiably, his stance completely relaxed. Chloe had to admire him for his coolness in the face of the older man's stern gaze. She wondered briefly whether he would show the same coolness in the face of a similar Chloe-onslaught, because there was bound to be one, given Chloe's not-so-icy temper.  
  
"It's a school night, so she shouldn't be out too late." Her dad said crisply, his arms now crossed across his chest.   
  
A barely perceptible smile tugged insistently at the corners of Lex's mouth as he nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm aware of that."   
  
Chloe found the gist of the entire conversation surreal. Here she was, lurking around the corner in her own house listening to a conversation between her dad and Lex that could definitely have originated from Planet Weird, even if she hadn't taken into account of the fact that Lex was heir to one of America's largest corporate empires and her dad was the manager of Smallville Fertiliser Plant Number 3.   
  
He looked hard at Lex, then apparently satisfied, shouted, "Chloe! Lex is here."   
  
Chloe started from her semi-crouched position, almost toppling over due to the booming sound of her dad's voice and the slight cramp that she had developed in her legs from the tense eavesdropping she had just indulged in. Never let it be said that there were no consequences to eavesdropping into conversations between her dad and Lex. Cursing silently, she desperately call out, "Coming!"   
  
She waited a few seconds before loudly opening her bed room door and stomping towards the sitting room. She found Lex and her dad in exactly the same positions that she had left them.   
  
Chloe's eyes met Lex's across the room and she couldn't resist breaking out into an instantaneous grin, her eyes twinkling merrily in greeting. Clearly the Chloe smiling like an insane person phase of the relationship hadn't passed yet. "Hey." She said a little breathlessly.   
  
Lex made his way across the room towards her, giving her a rare unguarded smile in return. He leaned forward and was clearly about to give her a kiss before collecting himself and somewhat awkwardly pulling away again. "Hi." He surreptitiously glanced at her dad, who tried valiantly to wipe the faint look of disapproval from his face. "I thought I'd just drop by after work to see you before I headed back home for dinner ."  
  
Chloe frowned slightly, glancing at her watch. "It's 8 already. You haven't had dinner yet?"   
  
"No."   
  
She pondered whether to ask him to stay for dinner. Granted, it would have been awkward as hell listening to Lex and her dad make inanely small conversation for the sake of keeping the peace and pretending that they didn't prefer root canal without happy gas to having a dinner for three at the Sullivan household. But on the other hand, her dad might as well get used to fact that she and Lex were a thing, and if she wanted to invite Lex over for dinner, it should be okay.   
  
But surprisingly, her dad beat her to the punch. He cleared his throat conspicuously. "I ah ..." Chloe could almost see him visibly rolling his eyes at the polite gesture that he now couldn't resist making, because Gabe Sullivan was a nice man who couldn't help himself. "Would you like to stay for dinner Lex?" He hurriedly added, "Of course, it's probably nothing like what you're used to. Just meatballs that Chloe whipped up and leftover Chinese from last night."   
  
Chloe frowned. Well, if her dad insisted on putting in like _that_, what health-conscious billionaire-to-be would consider staying anyway, given the choice between a gourmet cooked meal in the comfort of his ancestral mansion and some highly suspicious meatball and sauce that Chloe had mildly improvised on and hence wasn't entirely sure was edible, and some even more suspicious leftover Chinese from their only sometimes functional fridge?  
  
Lex's expression visibly perked up. "Chloe made meatballs?" He asked, not even bothering to hide the curiosity and mild amusement in his voice. "She ... actually _cooked_ them?"   
  
Her eyes squinted dangerously in Lex's direction. What was so funny about her making food? Granted, she hated cooking of any kind and was potentially lethal with several types of electrical appliances owing to her extreme klutziness, but still ... did he have to look like he was enjoying the biggest joke of the century at the thought of her cooking?   
  
"Hey, I'm right here." She protested vehemently.   
  
He placidly ignored her, an intense look of interest on his face. "You say she _made_ them?" He asked her dad with a barely held in check twinkle in his eyes.   
  
Her dad sighed in resignation, although Chloe saw a tiny smile forming at the edges of his mouth. Gabe Sullivan was someone who could always see the funny side to things. Unfortunately for Chloe, the funny side in this instant just happened to include her and her complete and utter culinary non-skill. Lex was going to be in for a surprise, to say the least. "I'll set another place for you." He said, walking away.   
  
"Hey ..." Chloe trailed off as her dad disappeared towards the kitchen. Now that her dad and Lex seemed so eager to participate in the charade of sitting down to a small town, badly cooked family dinner, Chloe wasn't so sure she wanted to be there. Firstly, it was a thing of extreme weirdness trying to picture Lex Luthor, heir to the LuthorCorp billions, having meatballs at her house with his plant manager and his daughter, who Lex just happened to be dating. Secondly, it was weird picturing Lex having any kind of food at all without dastardly unpronounceable names like 'bouillabaisse' and 'escargot au vin', let alone hunkering down to a traditional American meal of leftover Chinese and meatballs. And thirdly - had she already _mentioned_ the fact that he was here, in her house, willingly subjecting himself to her cooking?   
  
Lex's clear voice cut like glass through her thoughts. "Relax Chloe." His eyes twinkled. "It's just dinner."   
  
"You mean you're looking forward to ending up at Smallville General with food poisoning?" She asked incredulously, not caring that she was placing just a little too much emphasis on her absent cooking ability so that her extreme anxiety at having Lex and her dad in the same room during dinner wasn't as obvious by comparison. The more she thought about it, the more tetchy she got.   
  
Lex and her dad, in the same room, in her house, equalled a potential disaster of gigantic proportions. It was an equation that even Chloe didn't have trouble figuring out. "Just looking after your health is all." She said lightly, her eyes downcast. 

"It's weird." She finally admitted. "Scratch that, it's _really_ weird. It's so weird that I'm considering it as an entry on the Wall of Weird."   
  
Lex's eyes lit up in understanding. Reaching for her hand, he pulled her close towards him so that there was barely a sliver of empty space between them. Chloe was so close to him that she could feel his warmth breath tingling her skin. He tilted her chin up lightly so that he now looked piercingly into her eyes. "Do you want me to go?" He asked solemnly.   


"No." She jumped in almost before he had finished asking the question, prompting slightly abashed laughter to escape both of them. She sighed somewhat morosely. "I'm not usually like this you know - all caring about whether people get along and stuff. But you and my dad are ... well, you know." She smiled self-consciously, suddenly feeling very young. "I just want everything to work out."   
  
"It'll be okay." Lex said confidently, wrapping strong arms around her.   
  
Chloe hugged him tightly back, taking comfort in the confidence that he was so strongly projecting. Say what she would about his less than stellar corporate reputation, but to Chloe, the whole knight in shining armour look really worked for him.   
  
"Dinner's on the table Chloe." Her dad's voice drifted clearly from the kitchen, prompting Chloe to disentangle herself from Lex. Although Chloe was still worried to the nth degree about possible badness during dinner, she was absolutely famished from the desperate math cram session she had endured that afternoon. 

She shrugged inwardly. If things turned from worse to worser between her dad and Lex she figured, she would deal with it then. No point crying over spilt milk, or in this case, no point in crying over it when it hadn't even been poured out from the carton yet. 

She entwined her small hands in Lex's, drawing him into the kitchen with an enigmatic smile that shone from her face. 

(c) September 2002


	27. Part Twenty Seven

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Twenty-Seven ~*~*

"So Chloe, have you got your dress picked out yet?" 

Chloe jerked her head up from the pile of history notes before her, hurriedly yanking her head phones off. "Huh?" 

Lana smiled indulgently, gesturing at the gaudy flyers complete with shiny sparkles that were plastered all over the side of the school building. "Junior prom?" 

Chloe's face fell as she registered Lana's not-so-hidden meaning, and she hastily looked away from the other girl's expectant expression. She bit her lip nervously, astutely avoiding Lana's penetrating gaze. "I'm not going." 

Lana's face registered fleeting surprise, before she admirably covered it up. She paused, frowning. "Mind if I ask why?" She asked lightly, in an effort to dispel the awkwardness that had settled between them. 

Chloe shrugged, dislodging a few random leaves that had settled on her hunched shoulders. 

They were outside ostensibly enjoying the spring sunshine, but in reality enduring a desperate cram session before finals. For Chloe at least, the last couple of months had flown by so quickly and so insanely happily that she had completely neglected the normal day to day activities of her life, namely chores and studying for finals. Which was a bad thing for her, given the fact that she couldn't hope to put a foot into any prestigious journalism course without getting good grades; which meant that her current position was about as desperate it could get. 

It was extremely lucky for Chloe that she had such great friends whom she could panic to. Clark the super geek who had a memory like one of her digital cameras, except was much better quality and wasn't apt to break down from lack of batteries; Lana and Pete who were becoming fellow caffeine dependants like herself, who didn't mind sitting through the matinee showing of the Chloe-panic stage show; and Lex, who she knew she could always turn to when the studying got rough and make her face the roughness head on, before treating her to a special dinner and make-out session for two. 

Chloe smiled whimsically. She knew that a big part of why she had neglected the whole studying thing was Lex. He seemed to be everything to her these days. Try as she might, Chloe just couldn't recover a modicum of that cynical wittiness that had branded her as uniquely Chloe, that trademark snarkyness and slightly caustic intelligence that was her calling card and trademark. It seemed that being with Lex had eroded that out of her, although - she wanted to mentally highlight in a big fluoro yellow marker - that wasn't necessarily of the bad. 

It was just ... different. 

"Hello? Paging missing earthling?" Lana's softly insistent voice recalled her attention to the present. 

"Huh?" Chloe wiped the side of her mouth hastily. Had she been drooling? 

If she had, Lana pretended not to notice. "Why aren't you going to the dance?" 

Chloe shrugged for the second time in as many minutes. It seemed to be her gesture du jour. "I don't know, I just don't feel like it." 

"Chloe." Lana admonished, her brows crinkling in disapproval. 

"Oh all right." Chloe huffed, snapping her notebook shut. "The quick Chloe anxiety download? I'd rather not risk it." Lana brows shot heavenwards in puzzlement. Chloe elaborated, blowing her fringe off her face. "I know I don't have to spell out that the word 'prom' has connotations for me that doesn't exactly thrill me with light and joy. I think the connotation would be more 'never again' and 'over my dead body'." 

"Chloe, you can't let one bad experience rule your life." 

"I'm not letting it rule my life Lana. I just don't need another starring role in 'Proms gone wrong - how to get ditched by your date'. I've had enough of a bad experience to last me a lifetime, maybe even two. I think I can deal with not taking that tempting refresher course in 'guaranteeing self-humiliation in 5 easy steps'." 

Lana looked stricken with guilt, making Chloe feel bad for having brought up what was obviously still a touchy subject between them. After all, it hadn't been the ex-cheerleader's fault that she had almost gotten herself blown away by a tornado, and if Chloe really needed to compare bad times, she knew that almost dying probably ranked a lot higher in the cosmic scale of things than having the suckyest time ever at a stupid high school prom. 

Chloe's expression softened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean - you know." She lowered her eyes thoughtfully. "It's water under a very shaky bridge, but water all the same. I hope we're cool with that." 

"We are." Lana smiled softly, perfectly understanding Chloe's totally non-subtle gesture of friendship. She paused, as a determined glint materialised in her eyes. "I don't think you should give up on the idea of going to the prom Chloe. I'll tell you what," her eyes searched Chloe's penetratingly with a hint of humour, "if you happen to change your mind, let me know. I'm going shopping for my dress this weekend, so we could go together." 

Chloe let out a mocking laugh, before toning her caustic attitude down. Had she just been saying that she had lost her snark? She made a mental note to herself to stop worrying about the whereabouts of her edge. She was Chloe - she always had the edge. "Yeah right. And maybe monkeys will fly out of my butt and bake cookies in Clark's fortress of solitude." 

Lana chuckled in spite of herself. "I don't know whether Clark would let monkeys into his fortress of solitude, but you never know Chloe," Lana smiled cheekily through her lashes, "monkeys can fly out of anywhere." 

Chloe eyed the mischievous glint in Lana's eyes suspiciously. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn that Lana was up to something. 

(c) September 2002


	28. Part Twenty Eight

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Everything In This World

By Viv

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Author's Notes: 

A huge thank you to my shiny new beta Filly! I've never had one before and never knew how cool it was to have someone to bang ideas off, read rough drafts and constructively criticise with so much fervour, intelligence and enthusiasm. Thank you! *s*

Also, thanks to everyone who read this story and are nice enough to leave reviews here. I truly appreciate it, and I'm really glad that you're enjoying it. 

****

*~*~ Part Twenty-Eight ~*~*

Chloe propped her chin in her hands, gazing at the irresistible sight of Lex eating potato chips in front of her. 

Firstly it was irresistible simply because it was Lex. Secondly, it was irresistible because of the slightly bizarre fact that Lex was sitting here, in her house, doing something as mundane as trying to balance a bunch of figures on his notebook while looking like he had just stepped out of an Armani photo shoot. And thirdly - did she even need a thirdly? Just knowing that Lex was in front of her, with her, should have been reason enough for her intense stare-a-thon, never mind the telltale licking of her lips and the slightly flustered look on her face, which gave beyond reasonable doubt evidence to anyone within a five mile radius that she was having less-than-pure thoughts about the handsome billionaire-to-be sitting opposite her. 

Lex munched away absently, his hand already snaking out to grab another handful of chips, completely oblivious to her non-virginal roller-coaster ride of thoughts. 

The past couple of months had been weird but liberating as hell. After the initial chorus of 'what the hell's from almost every man, woman and unborn child in Smallville at the Chloe and Lex thing, it had pretty much simmered down to open season for all and sundry. Chloe was actually quite impressed with the narrow-mindedness and the small town attitudes that pervaded her so called neighbours; even more impressive was the admirable restraint that her dad and Lex had showed in _not_ carving up said narrow minded people into small biteable chunks and feeding them back to their own produce. 

It had been weird too because Chloe had found herself spending so much time with Lex that it wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibility for any visually challenged person to mistake them for being lojacked to each other. For Chloe, who had always been a pretty single-minded individual set on her own ways, it had been a shock for her system to realise that being around another living, breathing person so much was actually quite a pleasant experience. 

But despite the wonderfulness that she had attached to the very thought of the Lex and Chloe relationship express, there had been a growing but persistent thought at the back of her mind about what exactly she had with Lex. Sure they spent copious amounts of time in each other's company doing all sorts of wacky and normal things, alternately irritating and making each other laugh, but Chloe was forced to admit that even after these couple of months she didn't know whether she really even knew the real Lex. 

Sure he was nice, and caring and all the wonderful and fantastic things a proper boyfriend ought to be. But when it all boiled down to it, Chloe was as unsure about Lex's feelings for her as she was about her love-hate relationship with double choc-chip fudge ice-cream. 

Without looking up from the flickering screen in front of him, Lex said in irritation. "Quit staring Chloe. If you have something to say to me, say it." He slammed the keyboard in frustration. "Why doesn't this add up?"   
  
She looked askance at him, and slightly annoyed at the way he was speaking to her. After all, it wasn't her fault that chemistry genius Lex didn't know how to add up properly. It wasn't like she was some super geek creature like Clark who could compute whole numbers in his head while munching on home grown produce and managing to look mopey at the same time. 

He sighed, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry Chloe. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that." 

"You bet your ass you shouldn't have." She smiled devilishly, already forgiving him as she reached over to steal a potato chip from his grasp. She munched on it playfully, watching the play of emotions on Lex's face as his irritation gave way to a resigned indulgence. 

That was what she kind of really liked about Lex. He was like a very complicated puzzle, showing you pieces of himself that never really fit together, partly because his emotions were capable of changing instantaneously from one moment to the next. Chloe knew something about being moody and volatile, but even she wasn't able to quite piece Lex together. He was an enigma, although a powerfully attractive and gorgeous enigma at that. 

"Seriously. What's gotten you so peeved that you had to all Godfather on your extremely pricey notebook that, by the way, I'd commit murder to have?" 

Lex sighed, closing the notebook gently. "Trust me Chloe, you don't want to hear about this." He sighed once more, running a hand through his scalp. "Let's just say that running a fertiliser plant isn't as exciting as it appears to be." 

Chloe's brows shot heavenwards as she tittered. "Okay. Firstly? I'm not sure which planet _you're _from, but where I live running a fertiliser plant is about as far away as you can get from excitement. Secondly, let's not forget the tiny but significant detail that my dad's the plant manager, and let's just say he's regaled me with stories that I'd rather not think about in the presence of food." She smiled ruefully. "Thirdly, why don't you try me? I may not be an economics genius, but it might help if you talked it out."

He shook his head as he gathered his hastily scrawled notes into a bundle. "You wouldn't understand." He said off-handedly. 

Chloe's face fell as her good mood dropped out of her stomach. She looked away, trying to hide the rising tide of hurt and resentment that coursed through her being. She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her, but his remark had been callous and she had expected more from him than that. 

Maybe that was the problem, she asked herself silently. Maybe she expected _too _much from him. 

She was suddenly frightened by the possibility that in her mind, Lex was pretty much flawless. He was older, much more worldlier, and despite her occasionally snarky attitude and cynical view of the world, she knew that she was still pretty much the poster child for naivety, something that couldn't be helped growing up in a small country town. He was also more intelligent and devious than she could ever hope to be, all of which suggested to her slightly warped mind that he was a whole lot better than her and hence, able to do no wrong in her eyes. 

Did she really think of him that way? She had accused Clark of idolising Lana from afar for so many years, secure in the knowledge that she could never be anything as lame as that, but - had she turned into Clark redux? Was Lex perfect and able to do no wrong in her eyes? 

Because that would have been the lamest thought in the history of Chloe-time. 

She looked up to catch him studying her, studying the way the hurt flickered across her eyes. His own eyes widened in understanding. "Oh - Chloe, I didn't -" She cut him off, abruptly standing and sending her pile of chemistry notes toppling over the table in the process. "You know I didn't mean it like that." 

She shrugged his apology off, bending down and hurriedly gathered her notes that had been strewn haphazardly across the linoleum floor. Chloe kept her head down, blinking back tears that had no good reason to fall and therefore wouldn't, even if Chloe had to use all her energy to keep them from cascading down in the style of the Niagra Falls. 

She was so lame sometimes, she chastised herself silently. One minute she was being all moony and sentimental, the next minute she had convinced herself that her world was about to end and suddenly, she was craving ice cream like there was no fat-free tomorrow. 

Lex quickly rounded the table and hauled her gently to her feet. She found herself clutching the pile of notes to her chest like a child, a security blanket against the intense gaze that Lex was now fixing on her. 

"Chloe." His voice was slightly husky in desperation, compelling her to meet his unwaveringly cool blue eyes. "I'm sorry, it shouldn't have come out like that -"

"No." She shook her head, tucking her fly away blond hair behind her ears almost absently. "It's okay ... You're right." She looked him full in the eyes, not blanching at the openness of his expression and the tightness around his eyes. "I wouldn't understand." She laughed tightly. "You know me and business. I pretty much suck at economics, plus I've never had to run a plant before. It was a stupid thing to suggest." 

Why was it only in times of stress that Lex Luthor felt comfortable enough around her to let go of his defences? Why was it only when she was hurt did he feel safe enough to let her see what he was really feeling? 

Lex sighed, regret gracing his smooth face as he studied his clasped hands in agitation. Chloe followed his gaze as his fingers fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth, surprised that he was showing such an anxious affectation. Lex was usually so controlled, so enigmatic that for a second it took her breath away to realise that maybe, he was a human being after all. An extremely rich human being, but one who felt uncertainty and anger and regret just like the next guy. And just like the next guy, he was capable of saying or doing stupid things just because he was a member of the male species, which Chloe reflected was reason enough as it was to say a stupid thing or two. 

Her eyes searched his downcast face. He looked tired and bone weary, and Chloe realised that he must have been under enormous pressure at the Plant and at LuthorCorp, no doubt brought on by his father in some shape or form. Lionel Luthor had been pretty much physically incapacitated since that fateful night when the tornadoes had struck Smallville, but he was still very much mentally capable of tormenting Lex from afar.

Her heart softened, and her face melted from one of extreme injury to resigned contriteness. Never let it be said that Chloe Sullivan was an unforgiving girl, even if she had a temper comparable to a nuclear explosion. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - let's just forget it." She forced herself to smile, an expression that grew warmer and gentler as she watched its effect on Lex unfurl across his face. 

Did she really have the power to affect him that much? When had that significant development happened? And why wasn't she paged about it?

Chloe mentally scribbled an internal memo to herself, promising to come back to that particular fact later. Right now she just wanted to concentrate on Lex and undo whatever badness that had momentarily descended between them. She guessed that it had been too much to ask for their insane happiness to last forever; frankly she was surprised that it had lasted for as long as two months. 

Chloe laughed quietly, embarrassment colouring her face. "Did that qualify as our first official fight?" 

Her expression caused Lex to chuckle as he lifted cool blue eyes to meet hers in a soft gaze. "I don't think that was really much of a fight Chloe. More like ... an unpleasant disagreement." His smile grew wider as it transformed into a knowing smirk. 

"Oh, like disagreements can be _pleasant_?" She retorted, enjoying their verbal duelling once again. 

He conceded her point as his stance melted away into one of complete confidence. "Point taken. Now," he drew her close to his own body, wrapping his arms around her small frame and audibly inhaling the scent of her freshly washed air. "I've got another matter to take up with you, Miss Sullivan." 

Chloe raised her brow questioningly, slightly lost in the sensation that Lex's arms aroused within her. 

"I heard from two very reliable sources that you weren't going to a certain junior prom this year." 

"Uh-huh." She nodded in acknowledgment, the smile fading slightly off her face. She untangled herself slightly from his arms so that she could tilt her face to meet his scrutinising gaze. "And would those two very reliable sources consist of the Clark Kent and Lana Lang tag team?" 

"I don't like to reveal my sources." Lex smirked, his eyes revealing a come hither look that served to arouse and distract Chloe from the matter at hand. Damn his sexy charm. "Mind if I ask why you don't want to go?" 

Chloe sighed, untangling herself fully from his hold. "I figured I'd quit while I was ahead." He looked questioningly down at her, and she elaborated. "After the whole prom debacle last year I figured I wouldn't try my luck a second time. Everything's cool now and that's the way I want it to stay. You know me and proms -" 

"I know you and _one _prom." Lex interjected forcefully. "It's not going to happen again Chloe. I promise." 

She laughed derisively. "God I hope not. Clark would kill you for one thing." The smile drained off her face. "Lex, I don't need to spend copious amounts of my dad's hard earned money outfitting myself in something that could potentially make the fashion police come after me for crimes against high fashion. I don't need to dress up like some airhead and validate myself in front of the entire school with expensive hair and shoes and make-up."

"But it'd be fun." Lex argued vainly. 

"Ah - _fun_? In which warped universe did you come from? Because I wouldn't exactly describe a lame high school prom as fun. Especially for you." She emphasised quietly. "I know what you're trying to do Lex but - you don't have to. Not everything's about conquering past demons or whatever. I'm cool with just staying in and hanging out. With you, hopefully." 

"Chloe I'm not trying to be heroic. I really think you'd have fun." He looked down at her quietly. "You only get to go to high school once in your life and after that, you'll wish that you could go back and enjoy those simpler times again." Her eyes trailed his soft skin to the juncture of his throat, watching as he swallowed visibly. "Trust me, I've been there. You won't know what you've missed until it's too late." He gingerly traced a slender finger down the contours of her face as she looked down at her with softly shining eyes. "Let me take you to the prom, okay?" 

Chloe wavered between outright disagreement and buckling under his softly gentle gaze. "Okay." She whispered finally. 

After all, what sane person would refuse Lex Luthor when he looked at you like you were the only person in the world, Chloe reflected in the dim recesses of her mind. She just hoped that he was right, and that nothing bad would come out of it. She shuddered to think what would happen and history repeated itself. She didn't think she could handle another crushing disappointment in whatever form it took.

(c) September 2002


	29. Part Twenty Nine

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Everything In This World

By Viv

__

Thanks again to be wonderful beta Filly! ;-D 

****

*~*~ Part Twenty-Nine ~*~*

Chloe frowned at her somewhat glorified reflection in the mirror, pursing her lips in concentration. 

She resisted the temptation to move for fear of dislodging the almost-perfect state of her dress, hair and make-up. This was about as close as Chloe would get to looking like what she had always wanted to look like, and she didn't want to disturb the image any more than she already was going to by doing all the normal motions of human behaviour, like talking or moving or breathing. 

She scrutinised herself critically in the mirror, her eyes trailing down the length of her reflection. 

Chloe had reluctantly shunted the famous Sullivan pride last week and had taken Lana up on her generous offer of going dress and full package shopping with her. Lana had managed to nicely manipulate Nell into chauffeuring them to the largest, most well-equipped mall in Smallville in order to sample as vast a range of appropriate accessories, make-up, dresses, shoes and bags as it was humanly possible for two slightly deranged Smallville girls on a mission like they had been. 

It had been a huge revelation to Chloe, who hadn't ever done two straight days of intense shopping for anything in her life, perhaps due to the lucky coincidence that she hadn't really had a good female friend before. The entire experience had left her physically drained and honestly, if Lana hadn't been there to prop her up with motivational snippets like 'you want to look gorgeous for Lex, don't you Chloe?' and 'I think red really suits you, Lex will go crazy when he sees you', Chloe would never have been able to subject herself to so much exhausting girlie preparation. 

So on reflection, it had been really nice of Lana to have pushed Chloe beyond her shopping limits, even though she had to endure more than a few 'monkeys flying out of butt' jokes in the process, which Chloe knew she kind of deserved. Besides, it had been kind of entertaining to hear 'butt' and 'monkey' come out of Lana's usually serious cherubic-like mouth. 

All in all, it had taken the entire weekend of intense jockeying for position during convenient sales and a gifted intuition of bargains on Lana's part for them to have completed their mission - which was, as Lana had expositioned to a somewhat dazed Chloe during their first caffeine pit stop last Saturday, the dual conquests of a certain charming yet slightly clueless farm boy and a way too cocky bald-headed billionaire-to-be. The key to the mission, she had explained patiently, was in reducing the said individuals into two dribbling idiots at the mere sight of them in all their coiffed glory. 

Lana was really one very, very scary individual sometimes. Chloe made a mental note to remind herself _never _to get into Lana's bad books. Chloe was kind of funny with the whole valuing her life thing.

Chloe hadn't known this before last weekend, but she had at last discovered something slightly deranged about Lana. The girl was surprisingly tenacious when it came to bargains and sales and also - she was really quite scary when it came to getting her way with men. In fact, Lana was kind of like a preternaturally gorgeous missile, capable of blasting people out of the way if they happened to be lodged in her path. 

Chloe snickered to herself. She wondered if Clark had discovered that little diamond of a detail about his beloved fairy princess yet. 

She shook off the less-than-generous thought and dragged herself back to the present. She conducted a last minute not-so-routine check of the state of Chloe, looking her reflection in the mirror. 

Chloe shifted uncomfortably, adjusting her dress across her hips again. This was one of the things that she had been afraid of about the whole formal wear thing - that unique feeling like she had been cinched into a straight jacket by a particularly uncaring psychiatric nurse who wanted to discover whether it was possible for Chloe to burst the seams of her dress through the simple act of breathing. So okay, she loved the way she looked right now, but she wasn't entirely sure that the entire creation would not come apart as soon as she managed to ingest some food or say, breathe. 

Chloe swallowed as she studied her reflection again. She wore an asymmetric crimson dress made of a shimmering, ethereal material that managed to accentuate what curves she had and make them palatable to the naked eye. It was cut simply and wrapped snugly around her body, highlighting the paleness of her untanned skin. She had accessorised the ensemble with matching shoes and a bag that hadn't threatened to cost both her arms and legs, and an imitation ruby-red necklace that she had snagged at a bargain price that glimmered in the light. 

But what she was really unsure about was the final touch that had been Lana's crowning glory, or so the ex-cheerleader had enthusiastically proclaimed that afternoon when she had dropped it off at Chloe's house. 

Chloe gingerly fingered the delicate adornment in her carefully bound hair, constructed from three entwined red roses that Lana had Martha Stewarted that morning. It seemed to be a little too much for a simple high school prom and really, was Chloe even the type to wear flowers in her hair? 

She licked her lips in a rising torrent of anxiety. Did she look even slightly gorgeous, or at the very least, not horrendous enough to send grown men running away from her? Chloe didn't really have an inflated sense of her own modest feminine charms, but she hoped that she was at least registering on the hottie scale tonight. She frowned. It was kind of hard to tell when she was in this state of superheated excitement. 

Unfortunately for Chloe, it wasn't physically possible for her to go to the junior prom with Lex and remain still and unmoving and marginally idolising her appearance in front of the mirror. She had to eventually take a step, and the critical moment had come when she had heard her dad's telltale voice announcing Lex's arrival. 

This was it. The big unveiling of the once-in-a-lifetime picture perfect Chloe. She took a deep breath and tried to not concentrate on the rapid thumping of her heart against her ribcage and the way she teetered slightly as she tried to walk on higher than normal heels. She took another deep breath. 

She was met by open astonishment as she stepped into the main living area. Go Lana, Chloe silently intoned to herself. 

Her dad's eyes watered, although Chloe couldn't be sure whether it was from excessive pride or intense anxiety over allowing Lex Luthor to take her out for a night dressed like a million dollars and some change. Her eyes quickly travelled to Lex who stood beside her dad in the bright light of the room, blinking wordlessly in appreciation at her appearance. He looked suitably astonished, his pale blue eyes glittering with open marvel at her transformation. 

All in all, their reaction was faintly flattering. Although as the seconds ticked by, Chloe became just a little bit worried by the conspicuous absence of actual speech. 

She cleared her throat conspicuously. "So - how do I look?" Her breath hitched as Lex continued to stare. It wasn't the open gape of surprise from her dad, but something a lot more muted and piercing. A glint materialised in his eyes, a dangerous lustre that clouded the otherwise cognisant expression on the rest of his face. 

Chloe swallowed nervously at his hungry expression. Not to mention the obvious fact that he looked even more suave and sexy-as-hell tonight, decked out in a streamlined designer tux that fitted him in all the right places. She licked her lips self-consciously, suddenly not knowing where to place her arms, hanging awkwardly at her side. 

"Perfect." He whispered, seemingly lost in the sight of Chloe looking like the beautiful woman she would one day become. There was a slightly predatory look on his face which looked excruciatingly comfortable on his pale, unlined face, an expression that made Chloe smile tentatively, uncertainty running rampant over her features. 

Oh boy. What had she gotten herself into? 

It was now her dad's turn to clear his throat, faint disapproval at Lex's expression and intense pride at Chloe resulting in an odd tag team of emotions running across his face. He relaxed as she came to his side, giving him a faint peck on the cheek. "You have a great time tonight sweetie. Don't stay out too late." 

"I won't." Chloe said simply, a blinding smile gracing her face. 

Her dad gingerly smoothed an errant wisp of hair that had escaped Chloe's relentless ministrations and sighed somewhat in resignation. "I trust you'll take care of my little girl tonight Lex." 

Lex's smouldering eyes remained glued onto Chloe's form as he replied. "Trust me Gabe, I will". 

"Yeah, okay." Her dad frowned in half-disbelief but decided to keep his misgivings to himself, to which Chloe was eternally grateful. Who said her dad didn't have tact? 

Chloe returned her gaze from her dad to Lex, and almost started at the intense come-hither look in his eyes. It scared her that he was suddenly displaying such an obvious physical interest in her, but it kind of excited her too. After all, Chloe was a red-blooded 17 year old American girl with teenage hormones like the rest of the species. It wasn't as if she had never entertained the idea of seeing what was so tastefully hidden under Lex's vast array of designer suits and tailored pants; even more intriguing was the idea of what Lex could do given his reputed experience with women. All of which combined to make Chloe slightly sweaty with apprehension and dare she say it, with excitement. 

She shook her head in an effort to dislodge the not-so-pure thoughts out of her head. Firstly, she couldn't afford to sweat right now. Secondly - there was no secondly. No sweating and no sexy impure thoughts of Lex and his come hither eyes. 

"Ready to go?" Lex smiled bemusedly down at her, and Chloe couldn't restrain a blush that crept steadily over her body at the embarrassing thought that he had somehow read her mind. Which given its occupation of the gutter right now was probably not going to be a good way to start the evening. 

She nodded, swallowing several times. "Ready." She laughed nervously as he reached forward and entwined their hands together, almost tripping on her way out the door. She steadied herself against him breathlessly. "Ready as I'll never be, I guess." 

He grinned back, his eyes shining in the moonlight. "Relax Chloe. You're going to have a great time tonight." He bent down and kissed her deeply, his lips burning with warmth and passion against hers as his tongue plundered the caverns of her mouth expertly. 

If that had been Lex's way of calming her down - that was so the wrong idea. It left her as breathless as she had been before and really, was it any way to reduce the amount of impure thoughts that a wacky blonde was having about a certain follically challenged individual? 

"Does that help?" Lex asked, retaining the good grace to smile at her flushed state. 

Chloe grinned. "A little." A hint of mischievousness returned to her eyes as she took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious aroma of the warm night air. "Although, do I get repeated doses throughout the night as needed?" 

She was distracted momentarily by the sight of the solitary limousine that stood silently in the yard. Lex smiled enigmatically as he opened the door for her, impatiently waving the chauffeur away. 

"And before I forget." He smirked roguishly, his eyes twinkling with delight as he suddenly produced a tastefully bound corsage. "This is for you." 

"Lex ..." Chloe's suddenly shaky voice trailed off into the warm night air as open surprise adorned her face. She was suddenly very touched. He had thought of everything, and despite this being a very lame high school junior prom, no detail had been too small to escape his attention. "Thank you." She managed to whisper as she looked up at him, heartfelt appreciation in her eyes. 

Incredible. There wasn't any other word to describe this man who now stood in front of her. How could she have not seen this tiny but significant detail before? 

"You're welcome." He winked assuredly at her as he ushered her into the limousine. He seemed to be taking her openly displayed emotion in his stride, but Chloe flattered herself in detecting a more than usual glittering in his pale blue eyes. She was again reminded of his incredible ability to cover up Titanic-sized emotions, but her flustered mind couldn't really grasp the significance of the fact as yet. 

She was just content to sink down into the soft, leathery confines of the seat and to enjoy the delicious sensation of Lex melding his body against hers as he sat down beside her. 

Chloe breathed deeply, settling into Lex's arms with a sigh. For once in her life, she understood what it felt like to be a princess in a fairy tale, her handsome prince by her side. The night was still young, but Chloe felt that whatever else happened, all her primping and strapping and the anxiety she had felt in tonight's build up had already been worth it because Lex was taking her to the prom. 

(c) October 2002


	30. Part Thirty

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Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty ~*~*

Chloe burst into a smile that threatened to split her face when she caught sight of Clark and Lana hurrying across the front yard of Lana's house. She was being an insanely happy lunatic masquerading as a normal person tonight, but she didn't really care.

"Hey." Lana greeted them breathlessly as she climbed into the limo, managing to tug Clark after her gracefully. Clark grinned at Chloe as he settled onto the luxuriously appointed seat, his smile almost as wide as Chloe's in the darkness. Although she admitted that she totally understood the look of wide-eyed adoration that graced his handsomely chiselled face; one look at Lana and frankly, Chloe was surprised that Clark still retained the ability to function as a normal human being. 

Chloe caught Lana's eye and winked, making the other girl giggle. Judging by the almost vacant look of adoration on Clark's face, it looked like Lana had accomplished her mission of reducing Clark into a dribbling mass of atoms - and then some. 

The two girls were a study in contrasts. While Chloe was a vibrant cacophony of blond and crimson, Lana was decked out in an elegant sapphire ensemble that seemed to make her entire being shimmer in the pearly moonlight. Her long raven hair cascaded in loosely defined curls down her back, framing the delicate contours of her face like a softly trickling silk waterfall. Her strapless sapphire gown was overlaid with a soft diaphanous material that added to the softly muted elegance that clung to the ex-cheerleader. A wrap of the same material finished off the ensemble. 

All in all, Chloe reflected, they didn't brush up too badly. Although she was sure that in Lana's case 'brushing up' had never really been an issue. 

Chloe's mind suddenly plunged back to Earth. "Hey, where's Pete?" 

Clark's expression of open worship quickly dissolved, replaced by a look that Chloe could only describe as mildly disturbed. "He said he was picking up his date and driving straight there." His brilliant blue eyes surveyed hers uncomfortably, flittering quickly over to Lex as he shrugged. 

"So he still hates my family I take it?" Clark opened his mouth in protest, but Lex quickly overrode his objection. "It's okay Clark, I'm used to suffering for the sins of my father. Comes with the territory." He turned casually, opening a compartment that was filled with soda and what to Chloe looked suspiciously like scotch, although she wasn't really sure, not being an aficionado of alcohol in general. "Drink?" 

"Lex -"

"Don't worry Clark, the scotch is for me." 

Lex didn't catch the look of faint annoyance that crossed Chloe's face. Far be it for her to be an advocate for underage drinking, but his vastly superior tone grated at her. He was treating them like kids which would have been irritating enough as it was, but add to that the fact that he wasn't really all _that _much older than them, and what gave him the right to use such a tone anyway, and - well, let's just say she was potentially well on the way to being annoyed-as-hell, if careful containment procedures weren't employed immediately. 

Chloe squashed her irritation down by concentrating on the matter at hand. 

"That wasn't what I was going to say Lex." Lex had the good grace to acknowledge Clark's look of mild reproof, a look that jolted Chloe to once again realise that Clark wasn't as clueless as he sometimes pretended to be. In fact, given his freakishly accurate memory, she was surprised that he wasn't constantly going through life reminding people of facts and figures like some tall, farm boy Palm Pilot. "You just need to give Pete time to get to know you. He can be stubborn sometimes." Clark's frown suddenly dissolved into a brilliant smile, a uniquely patented Clark-like smile that was capable of brightening any room he walked into, including a fairly modestly sized limousine cruising comfortably on its way to the junior prom. "Once he finds out how nice you are, he'll come around for sure." 

Clark's blazing smile drew Lex to smile irresistibly in return. He sighed in mock resignation. "If you say so Clark." 

"I do say so."

"Okay." 

"Okay." Clark and Lex grinned at each other, seemingly oblivious to their less-than-manly stare-a-thon. 

Chloe's brow shot heavenwards. "_Okay._" She scoffed audibly. "I hate to interrupt this intense love-fest, but you," she looked pointedly at Lex, her gaze stopping him drinking mid-motion, "stop being martyr boy and feeling sorry for yourself. And you," Chloe swivelled, wiping the knowing smirk off Clark's face, "stop feeling so satisfied with yourself for a job well done." Off their slightly stunned looks she continued, catching Lana's eye as it twinkled in the dim light. "And both of you, treat your dates better." 

Clark laughed sheepishly, taking the not-so-subtle hint as he quickly wrapped his arms gently around Lana's bare shoulders, giving her a somewhat chaste kiss on the cheek. Lana leaned into his broad frame and sighed happily, staring out at the darkened landscape as it rolled silently past. 

Lex however, decided to be much more dexterous. With a devilish smile on his face he leaned into Chloe, melding his body into hers until the friction between them almost caused her to have a coronary, albeit of the extremely pleasant variety. He whispered in a tone that Chloe could only vaguely describe as scintillatingly sexy, his breath wreaking havoc on her sensitive skin as it travelled up the crook of her neck to settle beside her ear. "Point taken. I promise," he said, as their gazes met in a searing flash of passion, his eyes trailing slowly from her face to the bare skin of her chest, "it won't happen again tonight." 

"Oh - ah huh?" Chloe half-asked, half-mumbled, not show whether it had meant to be a rhetorical statement or not. She was more than a little dazed and weak-kneed, and if she had been asked to stand at this instant, she felt sure that she would have promptly dissolved into a pile of extremely sweaty jello-goo. 

Oh boy. For the second time that night, she wondered what she had gotten herself into with Lex. 

(c) October 2002


	31. Part Thirty One

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-One ~*~*

"What?" Chloe shouted above the obnoxious drumming of the rock music blaring from the speakers, which just happened to be located right behind her. 

Their position hadn't been as noticeably bad during the confused pre-prom excitement, the traditional part of the evening's festivities when girls simply milled about admiring each other's outfits and catching up on last minute gossip, while guys weighed in on the dating scale depending on who they had managed to bring to the prom. 

By the time Chloe, Lex, Clark and Lana had made their grand entrance into the slightly less lamer than usual high school gym, Pete and his date were already there. He was nervously sipping on the mystery punch and looking like a cross between the luckiest guy on earth and a harangued survivor from a particularly horrible natural disaster.

Chloe knew he was having a great time. 

Chloe admitted that she had been unjustifiably nervous about the whole night. The snarky, confident part of her - a very small part admittedly - was horrified that she had managed to build this lamer than lame high school excuse for a night out as the social event of the season. Granted, she _was_ a high school girl and this _was _a high school prom, and it was potentially the best prom she would ever go to but still, it shouldn't have given her the intense heeby-jeebies that ran rampant around the insides of her stomach every single time her mind unfortunately landed in the vicinity of The Prom during the past few days.

Chloe had been prepared for her carefully constructed prom-look to crash and burn into an orangy, flamy death. She had been prepared for some last minute disaster that only Smallville was capable of generating, because this was a weird, weird town where weirder than usual things happened. 

What she hadn't been prepared for was the hushed silence that swept the crowded gym like a silent forest fire, and the intense stares that bored straight into her when she had walked into the room with Lex. 

And not for one disillusioned millisecond did she think that the crowd had been blinded by her stunning non-beauty. 

In the extreme wisdom of hindsight, she guessed that she shouldn't have been so surprised at the reaction. For the past two months she had been the target of some pretty personal variety of insults courtesy of her very much 'out there' and publicised thing with Lex. The Luthors had never been popular in any sense of the word in Smallville, but somehow, her dating Lex seemed to have been viewed by the general ma and pa's as something akin to murder - except with a heavier jail sentence and possibly more against human nature. 

Which hadn't initially bothered Chloe, given her regular enjoyment of her controversial editorials on the Torch. She was used to ticking people off by the edge of her wit and opinions. But Lex seemed to have a huger than usual problem with it. Which was sweet, and sugary nice, and gave her the warmest of fuzzies, but she couldn't help feeling that it got a little too much sometimes to have your personal knight in shining Armani if he was going to so medieval about the whole 'protecting her' thing. 

Chloe sighed, trying to draw her attention away from her thoughts by concentrating on the scene at hand. 

The music blared loudly behind her, and she restrained the almost fatal urge to murder whoever had sat Chloe right in front of the speakers. She was barely able to hear herself think, much less hear Lex, even though he had managed to nestle his body right against hers as they sat together at the table and thereby reduced the need for actual talking. His electrifying touch notwithstanding, the mood was dampened by the fact that despite the dim pseudo-romantic lighting that the prom committee had kindly rigged, it did not hide the fact that they were clearly visible to the general viewing public - and what an interested public at that. 

Not that she minded the touching thing because, really - could any girl _mind _Lex draping himself all over her? 

Chloe was jerked back to reality by a strange, lightly creeping sensation rising up her leg. A second later she realised that Lex was skilfully weaving his hand up and down the length of her lower thigh, drawing lazy circles on her increasingly warm skin. 

Wow, what did he just do with his those skilful, dexterous hands? Chloe reddened as she threw a surreptitious glance at Lex. 

She didn't know what had come over him tonight. While they had officially been going out for the past two months, he had always been careful about the whole not pushing the limits thing around Chloe. He had treated her as if she was fragile and while Chloe was touched that he _cared_, she was getting increasingly frustrated by the exclusive first-base action. 

She didn't want to come off sounding like the world's biggest slut but really, how many signals was a girl supposed to send to an experienced billionaire-to-be playboy to get to second base, or dare she dream it, third or fourth? And how many bases were there anyway?

But everything was different tonight. Lex was different, and it sent a spasm of excitement coursing through her body to just contemplate how different. She was _definitely _not daddy's little girl any more. 

"I said -" Lana shouted above the confused cacophony around them. "Why aren't you and Lex dancing?"

Chloe gave up the vain of hope of hearing above the noise and shrugged. There really wasn't a sane person reason why she wasn't dancing right now. Maybe it was because of the excessive gawking by the entire gym population when she had first entered the room with Lex. Call her insane, but somehow that just made her slightly too self-conscious to even contemplate an attempt at bopping gracefully in rhythm on her million inch heels. 

Lex caught Lana's eye and shrugged, jerking his head in her direction. Which was his not-so-subtle way of saying 'totally not my fault'. 

"Come on Chloe, since when did _you _care what people think?" Lana asked, standing up and attempting to pull Chloe's limp form up. Which Chloe secretly thought was an absolute waste of energy because really, Lana was an almost-waif who looked like she was light and airy enough to traipse on water, while Chloe could probably pass for a very small, very blonde Mack truck in heels. Not to mention the fact that Lana would work up an unseemly excess of sweat that no amount of super-absorbent Kleenex would be able to counteract, thereby ruining her prom queen look enough so that not even Clark the clueless could fail to notice it. 

But Lana didn't seem to care for any of those consequences. She had a surprisingly strong and tenacious grip, and eventually she dragged Chloe to her feet against her will. 

"Hey." Chloe protested, although the frown eased from her face as Lex's warm arms circled around her. "What -" 

"This is a _prom _Chloe." Lana chastised her through a beaming smile. "You _have _to dance. It's like a law or something." 

"Who's not dancing?" Clark's booming voice suddenly materialised behind Chloe, making her visibly jump despite the fact that she still had trouble hearing herself think. "Punch?" He grinned his patented million-watt smile at her, as Lana slid into his waiting arms. 

Chloe glowered darkly at him. "_So _none of your business Clark." She found herself snapping, taking the proffered punch in spite of herself. 

"Come on, Chloe." He grinned almost insolently down at her, clearly enjoying the normally unflappable Chloe flapped. "It isn't a contest, no one's going to mark you on style. I mean, look at me." He gestured sheepishly at himself, his large blue eyes twinkling with enjoyment. "I'm the biggest, dorkiest one here. If I don't mind making a fool of myself, you shouldn't either. Besides, I think Lex is getting kind of bored." He added playfully, earning a half-hearted whack from Lana. 

If it had been possible for her brows to leap off her face in a dance of incredulity, they would have been boogieing on the crowded dance floor even now. Chloe very much doubted that anyone considered Clark the dorky, awkward Freshman he had been last year. At least, not since he had achieved superjock stardom and started dating Lana Lang. 

As for Lex being bored, that wasn't possible ... right?

Chloe turned and found Lex's clear blue orbs firmly fixed on her. "What?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, the gnawing dread that Lex couldn't be having less fun tonight making her tone colder than an Antarctic breeze. "Are you bored?" She asked Lex pointedly. "And why are you staring at me like that?" 

"You're kind of ... cute when you're defensive." His sly, insolent grin made her simultaneously want to hurl a very blunt object in his direction and jump him like there was no tomorrow. Both of which would have been very, _very_ bad things to do, given the number of witnesses around. 

She stared owlishly at him for a few moments, indecision racking her mind and making her resemble a very hot and marginally sweaty statue. She laughed sheepishly despite herself. "Are you bored Lex?" Chloe asked again, much more sincerely this time. She gestured around the modestly decorated gym. Balloons and garishly coloured ribbons already showed signs of wear, hanging limply as the jocks starting pulling them down for entertainment. "I mean, who could blame you? It's really not even _mildly _interesting for you, is it?" She sighed a little wistfully. "You'd probably have more fun at one of those monthly fertiliser productivity meetings, right?" 

"Well -" 

She turned to Lex dramatically. "Honestly, we don't have to stay if you don't want to. We could go back to your place -" At Clark's slightly shocked expression, she added, " or mine. Or we could -"

"Chloe." Lex cut her off gently, leaning in until their noses almost touched. Which nevertheless sent shock waves of anticipation careening down her spine. A crooked smile stole onto Lex's face, replacing the dry expression that had been present the whole night. "Do you want to dance?" 

"Okay." She blurted out despite her squeaky anxiety. Obviously the fearless, stubbornly individual part of Chloe had won out against the scared, loser caring what pathetic small minded individuals thought part. Which should have been a good thing, except why the hell was she so nervous about parading with Lex in front of the entire grade?

"Relax." Lex whispered tantalisingly into her ear as he tugged her insistently out onto the dance floor behind him. 

Clark winked at her in that charming, insufferably superior farm boy way of his, as if _he _had had something to do with Chloe's capitulation. He and Lana melted into the background of the other dancing couples. Pete floated by with his date, and Chloe could see that even _he _was in a sufficiently happy mood to give Chloe and Lex a once over that didn't plainly telegraph to Chloe that he wanted to murder Lex on the spot. In fact, he gave Lex a casual nod, which Lex tacitly accepted. 

Maybe fairy tales did come true after all. 

The insufferable whine of the pseudo alt-rock music suddenly fell away, replaced by a slow, melodious ballad. Chloe cringed inwardly, although the high school girl part of her felt a thrill of anticipation. Instead of having to bop in non-rhythm trying to balance on a pair of heels that Chloe wouldn't normally be able to walk in, much less dance in, she now had the opportunity to slow dance with Lex. In front of the entire grade. 

But suddenly Chloe found herself not caring either way. Here she was, dressed up to within an inch of what in her mind pretty much qualified as the Chloe look of the millennium, Lex was here with her, voluntarily enduring a lame junior prom just so he could make her one of the happiest crazy people in Smallville. If he could withstand scrutiny by appearing here with her, couldn't she brush away the cobwebby constraints of small-minded judgments? 

After all she was Chloe Sullivan - intrepid reporter and snark queen of Kansas, who could probably disassemble any amount of small town opinion with her lightning-quick tongue. 

Chloe smiled, satisfied that she could at last allow herself to enjoy what was left of the evening. She sighed happily as she sank into his arms, allowing herself the luxury of revelling at the unique sensation of having Lex's arms wrapped tightly around her. 

They danced in absolute silence, and Chloe found herself becoming lost in the tranquillity of the moment. She couldn't believe she had been silly and irrational enough to have let the possible narrow minded judgments of her fellow students delay the achievement of this wonderful experience - the being in Lex's arms, feeling his soft, even breaths brush tantalisingly against her hair experience. 

Well, there wasn't going to be any more of that non-courage any time soon. This was America, the land of the free, where truth, justice and the American way pervaded every inch of life. Which meant that Chloe could do whatever she wanted, including dating a certain handsome follically challenged billionaire-to-be who had the unique ability to satisfy her thirst for knowledge and make her laugh insanely at the same time. 

Chloe concluded she was a soon-to-be reformed idiot. But an extremely happy idiot at the moment. She seemed to have sunk into a very pleasant daze, where anything irrelevant to the fact that Lex's arms were around her and making her feel like the only girl on the face of the planet was briefly forgotten. 

She felt Lex's grip on her shift slightly as his hand snaked down to her hip, prompting a shiver to course down her spine. She tilted her face up to catch him as he smiled quizzically down at her, an amused sparkle in his eyes. She wondered if she had drooling. 

"Are you really enjoying yourself Lex? Or are you just saying it to not crush my already fragile feelings?" She murmured hazily, a hint of worry creeping into her voice. 

Lex chuckled ironically. "Believe me, this is the best prom I've ever been to." 

Chloe did a double take in her mind trying to register the thought of Lex going to another prom. It seemed like an absurd idea that he would willingly subject himself to another one of these non-extravaganzas. "How many have you been to?" She asked incredulously, caught off-guard enough for the surprise in her tone to explode from her in full force. 

He looked down at her, amusement shining from his enigmatic eyes. "Believe it or not, they had proms when I went to high school too." He looked pointedly at her as she berated herself for her stupidity. Of course, Lex had to have gone to his own prom - at the very least. God, she was the ditziest blonde on this side of the planet, maybe even on this side of the galaxy. Maybe it was the dress, and the way that it seemed to restrict her ability to breathe. Non-ability to breathe meant oxygen deprivation which meant a clearly non-functioning brain. 

Because she really didn't want to think about the fact that she was _naturally _this clueless.

"Oh." She said faintly, still cursing herself for looking so completely brainless in front of Lex. Sometimes she really couldn't understand why he liked her at all, given her propensity to overreact to narrow-minded small town opinions, her occasionally caustic attitude and just making a special appearance now, her apparent stupidity. "Did you enjoy it?" She asked lamely, trying vainly to recover a modicum of respectability in her own eyes. 

"No." He said simply, his gaze suddenly fixed to a spot somewhere in the vicinity of the crook of Chloe's neck. 

Chloe snapped to attention, instantaneously forgetting her own feelings of insecurity as the door into Lex's sometimes heavily guarded psyche creaked opened in front of her. "Why not?" She asked softly. 

He shrugged imperceptibly as they continued to sway to the music, his grip around her hips tightening. The Lex-sense in her that had been carefully cultivated in the past couple of months suddenly flared to attention, telling her that this was one of those things about himself that he didn't feel comfortable enough to reveal. 

But she wanted him to reveal it. She wanted him to know that it was okay for him to tell her this stuff, to give her something of himself that may have been fragile, that she could hold and have him feel like it was perfectly safe in her possession. She craved to know a part of him that no one else had ever seen or touched before, a part where no one had been close enough to see or touch through his iron-clad defences. She couldn't explain it - all she knew was that she needed it, craved it, to satiate a hunger that she only realised now had been welling up inside her for the past two months. 

Chloe drew slightly away from him so that she could tilt her face up to meet his gaze more forcefully. "Tell me?" She asked again, a note of raw pleading in her voice that for once, she made no effort to cover up. 

She heard him sigh, the expression of guarded amusement falling from his face, like a smooth velvet cloak unveiling to reveal hardened stone underneath.

"There isn't really much a story." He stated simply. "Not anything dramatic, you understand." A bitter smile played on the edge of his lips. "I never really fitted in anywhere after the meteor shower. People treated me differently because of this." He ran his hand subconsciously through his bare scalp, before wrapping it around her again. "As I grew up I grew to resent it, resent the stares and the whispers everywhere I went. Of course I was at boarding school so there wasn't really any chance for escape." He smiled deprecatingly, and Chloe had to resist the tug of sympathy that almost compelled her to wrap her arms around him and somehow make up for the loneliness that he had lived with for so long. "Long story short, I didn't have many friends. And you don't really _enjoy_ a prom night, or any other night, if your friends aren't there to enjoy it with you." 

Chloe followed his gaze as it rested on Clark and Lana, before turning back to sear intensely into her. His pale blue eyes, now fixed sedately onto hers, shone with the intensity of his slowly unveiling pain and loneliness, and Chloe had to blink rapidly to keep the tears that were now welling in her hazel orbs from falling and unceremoniously ruining her carefully applied make up. It wasn't really what he had said; it had been the way he looked when he had said it. 

Because for the first time she had known him, she could see that he had unfettered his emotions and displayed them openly to her. She could see the pain and loneliness that had been eating away inside him, and she marvelled at the way he had been able to control his emotions so well that they were so comprehensively hidden from even his closest friends. 

But now they were no longer hidden, because he was holding it out to her. Offering a part of himself for her to hold. 

She wanted to say a million things to him, to commiserate and comfort him, but she rapidly discarded each of them in succession. 

She really sucked big time with the milk of human kindness sympathy thing. 

"Hey." He tilted her chin up, scrutinising her rapidly crumbling expression. A faint look of worry crossed over his face. "Shit, was that too much?" 

"No." She laughed through the few tears that fell down her face. It was refreshing to hear the note of panic in his voice, assuring her of his status as part of the human race. "I'm just ... really glad you told me." She squeezed out. "And also, if you haven't noticed this already, I can get kind of emotional sometimes. Put it down to the craziness of me." 

Lex expelled an explosive breath as he said incredulously. "But you're crying." His fingers gently wiped the trickling tears from her face. 

"Not really." Chloe responded, wondering if it was against the laws of make up nature to wipe the tears away with the back of her hand before she remembered her mascara. Damn her lack of foresight for applying mascara. Of course she should have known that she would be bawling like a lunatic in the middle of the dance floor with not even a Kleenex in sight, although she wasn't technically bawling per se. "I mean, not good in terms of potentially making me look like a blond raccoon, but ... I don't know. Call me crazy but I'm really _glad _you told me. You know, all that stuff."

"Okay." He seemed marginally satisfied with her more-than-usual lame explanation. Chloe wanted to judo kick herself for her total lack of articulation. Did she seriously want to be a reporter one day? If she did she really needed a vocabulary transplant, because she could anticipate that somehow her current range of 'glad' and 'stuff' wouldn't cut it in the long run. 

But Lex didn't seem to mind. He drew her even closer to him and leaned into her, pressing his cheek against her hair. Through the drumming of her rapidly pumping heart, Chloe realised that he was holding onto her almost as tightly as she was holding on to him. It was a crystal moment of pure emotions, and Chloe was determined to hold onto that for as long as possible. 

Lex had promised her that she wasn't going to be disappointed with tonight. And she wasn't, because they were here, holding tightly onto each other as if they were the only two people in the room.

(c) October 2002


	32. Part Thirty Two

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Two ~*~*

Lex chuckled at Chloe as she fought off a yawn. "Tired, I take it?"

Chloe smiled sheepishly, covering her mouth in anticipation of yet another yawn. "Kind of ... dead tired. It's funny, I didn't do all that much, but I guess all that primping and strapping myself inside this," she gestured down at her slightly rumpled dress, still hugging very effectively to the curves of her body despite the late stage of the night, "kind of took a lot out of me. Plus the worrying about stuff and then the dancing ..." She shrugged a little more casually than usual. "Maybe I just need some caffeine?" 

Lex's appreciative gaze trailed down the length of her body, seemingly rooted to an invisible spot somewhere in the vicinity of her chest. 

Who was she kidding? He was staring right at her chest - Chloe shifted uncomfortably, suddenly wondering whether it had been such a good idea to wear a dress that showed this much cleavage. Sure she looked great, but ...

Chloe cleared her throat conspicuously. "So I was saying ... maybe I just need some caffeine?" 

"I'm sorry, what?" He jerked to attention, shaking himself out of his daze. She looked askance at him, feigned annoyance clouding her features. 

"You know for a sophisticated Metropolis-bred playboy, your society host radar seems sadly non-functional." 

"I'm sorry." He smiled dryly, shaking his head again. "I wasn't listening." He admitted. 

"Well d'uh." She sighed, resting her head against his taut frame. He seemed tense all of a sudden which was a pity, since he had loosened up so much tonight. "I was just saying how it'd be nice to get some coffee. You know, in the interests of me staying awake to enjoy your brilliant company and all." 

After the prom had ended, Pete had asked them whether they had wanted to go to a party near Crater Lake, but Chloe had declined. As much as Chloe wanted to freeze her butt off, there were plenty of places where she could do that with Lex - alone. Plus, watching a bunch of jocks and their obligatory pom-pom squad dates get drunk and then hurl the entire contents of their stomachs wasn't really Chloe's idea of fun. And she had this funny feeling that it wasn't Lex's idea either. 

So Lex's driver had dropped Clark, Lana, Pete and his date off, and Chloe and Lex had ended up here. Here being the picturesque greenery of the Luthor estate grounds, the moon casting imbuing their surroundings with a silverly glow.

They had chatted for a while as they strolled through the moonlit walk, until it had petered off into a comfortable silence. Chloe reflected that it was really nice sometimes to not speak, to absorb the absolute tranquillity and comfort of the moment. 

"Something wrong?" She asked quietly as she observed his subdued expression. 

"No." He sounded surprised by his own admission. "That's just it." He came to a stop and stepped in front of her, his form haloed by the pearly glow of the moon. "Nothing's wrong. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you or me or tonight." He chuckled self-consciously. "I'm just having a hard time accepting it." 

"What, that there's nothing wrong? Or that there's something wrong with the fact that there isn't anything wrong? And I think I just confused myself there so I have no idea what I'm talking about." Chloe frowned, trying to puzzle out what exactly he was trying to say. 

"Yeah." Off Chloe's confusion, he smiled wryly and elaborated. "I'm so used to moping about, feeling angry at the world, it's really ... different to feel _good_." 

Although she had a difficult time associating Lex with moping, she kind of understood what he meant. Having his baldness as a result of the meteor showers, losing his mother when he had been so young, having such a seriously distorted relationship with his father - his life hadn't exactly been anyone's idea of a fairy tale, despite his untold of riches and off-the-chart intelligence. 

"You, moping?" Chloe asked lightly, as a small laugh escaped her lips. "Did you catch that condition from Clark?" The smile slid off her face as she continued in a more serious tone. "You felt angry?" 

He nodded as he looked up toward the stars, inhaling the breezy scent of the freshly mowed grass. "Growing up, I hated my mother sometimes, for leaving me alone with my father. I hated the way he made me feel, like there was something ... unworthy about me, because of this." He ran long fingers through his bare scalp. "I learnt to embrace it but he ... he could never see past this. And because he couldn't I thought that no one else could either." His eyes bored into hers with a fire that almost made her reel with its intensity. "Until Clark ... and you." 

Chloe had never known anyone who could emote like Lex. She secretly thought that it was an incredible thing to witness, to see this flower of personality and passion blossom in front of your very eyes. Especially when all that power and intensity were levelled directly at you. 

She gulped. She hoped that she wasn't making her 'roadrunner, I'm out of here' look on her face. Because even though a part of her definitely felt that way, there was that stubborn, curious part that revelled in the fact that Lex was telling her - and only her - these things. 

"That was cathartic." He said, sarcasm heavily lacing his voice. 

"Cathar what?" 

He shook his head, a wry smile crossing over his face. "Never mind." He embraced her with one of his rare, hearty hugs that threatened to literally bowl Chloe over with its sheer emotional force. Chloe privately thought that it was like being assaulted by a very sophisticated gale. "I'm just really glad you're here tonight Chloe." 

Chloe remained silent as she hugged him tightly back, oblivious to the beautiful radiance of the starlit night. 

* * *

"Lex." Chloe reluctantly disentangled herself from Lex's almost possessive hold, launching herself off the elegantly appointed Breuer chair almost petulantly. She paced impatiently in front of the fireplace, the firelight dancing off the play of conflicting emotions across her face. 

Lex waited patiently, leaning back into the soft leather feel of the couch. He sipped silently at his scotch while Chloe looked on, agitatedly wondering how he could be so passionate one second and so cool and calm the next. It was one of the few mindlessly infuriating qualities about Lex that Chloe admired despite her irritation at it. 

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked brazenly, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Lex's mouth curled into a delightfully puzzled smile. "I'm ... sitting here with you?" Off her exasperated exasperation, he tried again. "I'm ... drinking my scotch and admiring how gorgeously feisty you look right now?" He sipped the glass almost insolently. "By the way, compliments for finding the dress. It's absolutely," he licked his lips lavishly, "stunning." 

Chloe flickered with pleasure but she held her face immobile, managing not to waver. Her determination to get through whatever it was that she wanted to say was written clearly over her face. Of course, part of the determination had to do with having absolutely no idea what she actually wanted to say to Lex, but she hoped that it would eventually find its way through the convoluted labyrinths of her mind and out of her mouth. 

She had been pretty content to just revel in her new found closeness with Lex for the past couple of months. Part of her still couldn't believe that she was really here, in Lex's spacious and elegantly appointed study being this closeand feeling so comfortable around him. If someone had told Chloe six months ago that she would be going out with Lex now, she would have laughed hysterically, then rapped them sharply across the head with the nearest blunt object before delivering them straight to Metropolis General, because clearly they would have been certifiably insane. 

So for the past couple of months she had been content to just flow with the newly discovered river of feelings that she now shared with Lex. But now she was feeling a sudden, inexplicable itch to do swirl the waters about. She wanted to break the glimmering surface to see what they really had. She wanted to clarify whatever it was that she had with Lex - maybe she even wanted to splash around and play with it and see what she could do before the inevitable tide turned. 

"Lex." She repeated, this time with much more force. "What are you doing with me?" 

He leaned forward, gently placing his scotch down onto the table in front of him. "Has anyone ever told you you're a great mood killer?" He sighed as he took in the stony set of her face. "What are you talking about?" He asked finally.

"You've been treating me like I'm made of glass of something." Chloe felt a fire ignite within her, threatening to burn its way up to the surface. "Treating me like ... " She struggled through the recesses of her mind to come up with an appropriate adjective. "Like a _kid_." She fumbled. "I'm dressed like this," she gestured down at her stunningly scarlet dress, "and all you want to do is make out." 

Lex frowned incredulously, completely shocked by her sudden aggression. "So I'm not _supposed _to want to kiss you?" He swallowed before continuing, the volume of his voice rising dangerously. "I'm not _supposed _to want to take things slowly between us because I care about you, and I want to make sure you knew what you were doing?" He rounded the table and was instantly before her so that their faces were now barely inches apart. "Maybe you'd prefer it if we got straight into this." He grabbed her roughly on the arms and forced his tongue into her mouth, licking and plundering with aggressive abandon. Chloe gasped for breath in his iron-tight hold grip but Lex didn't let up as his tongue continued to taste every sensuous niche in the cavern of her mouth.

Finally he let go of her and Chloe sprang away from him, her hand flying unwittingly to her swollen lips. She pursed them hard, her throat suddenly dry and parched. 

A pregnant silence hung in the air between them. 

Okay, what the hell had just happened here, she screamed silently to herself. Her heart thumped erratically and she swore that she could almost hear the blood pumping furiously to her extremities, willing her body to regain some control over the situation. Chloe found that any modicum of control she had before the moment had disappeared, leaving a kaleidoscope of intense emotions rampaging throughout her body.

Lex's eyes were wide with shock as he gaped in open astonishment. He stepped forward, making Chloe instinctively back away. "I'm sorry Chloe." He whispered, desperation filtering through to her still shocked senses. "I'm sorry, I don't know what ... "

Chloe found herself fascinated by the vulnerability so plainly written across his features. For the first time that she could remember, Lex didn't resemble the powerful and dangerously controlled individual that he had always been to her. Instead he looked lost amidst a sea of conflicting emotions running rampant inside him. 

His vulnerability was like a siren song to her. 

Chloe came forward, her steps slow and steady. She tilted her face up to catch his downcast eyes that were half hidden in shadow, awkwardly touching his arm. His gaze resolutely avoided hers as Chloe ran her hand gingerly across the pale, marble-like smoothness of his lower arm. They were so close now that she was sure that their breaths were heating each other's skin. And still she felt the rising warmth spread across her body, making her breathing erratic and harsh.

Lex's breaths almost scorched her with its intensity. Half languorously, half awkwardly, Chloe's hands trailed down Lex's lower body until they came to rest at the buckle of his belt. She deftly undid it and fumbled for the zip, anxiously chastising herself for not having practiced the manoeuvre before now. 

In her haste her hand accidentally brushed against him, eliciting an involuntary hiss of pleasure before he anxiously flinched away. He placed a firm but gentle hold on her wrist. "Are you sure?" He whispered, urgency and gentleness mixing in an awkward blend of desperation, something so wildly out of control that it almost halted Chloe mid-fly.

Almost, but not quite. "Just be gentle." Was all Chloe whispered in reply as she tilted her face up in readiness for Lex's hungry kiss. 

He didn't disappoint. Chloe found herself smiling into the fiery abandon that now consumed them, white hot molten passion unchecked in the crackling stillness of the night. She allowed Lex to guide them to the floor, revelling in the unique and searing sensation of his body pressing urgently against hers as she descended into a vortex of Lex-induced bliss. 

Boy, when sparks flew between them, they _really _flew. Not that she wasn't a poster child for gratefulness or anything because at this very moment, she was beyond grateful. And of course, excited as hell. 

That was pretty much the last coherent thought that ran through her mind as she allowed herself to become lost in the reckless passion of the night. 

(c) October 2002


	33. Part Thirty Three

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

__

Author's Notes:

A entirely insufficient thank you to my beta Filly - without her pointing the way to a deeper Chlex bond, this chapter and subsequent chapters would never have been born. 

Also a huge wonderful thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to leave reviews here. I appreciate each and every one, and they all encourage me to keep on writing - especially when I feel like I'm a talentless hack who has no business posting things up for people to read. So thanks! ;-)

****

*~*~ Part Thirty-Three ~*~*

Chloe's eyes flittered open, blinking hazily in the darkness around her. 

It took her a moment for her confused mind to catch on to why her bed felt so luxuriously soft and silky, and why she had this uncomfortable gnawing sensation that she was being closely watched for no sane person reason at all. 

She was mystified when she realised that this was not in fact, her bed, the telltale rustle of the silky sheets swishing underneath her and the dusky colour of the fabric alerting her to that fact almost as soon as her had mind caught up to the rest of her body. 

Mystified was okay, but she was both excited and slightly horrified when she realised that the uncomfortable sensation of being watched was not in actuality a sensation at all, but in fact reality, because right at this moment she was being hawkishly scrutinised by Lex's haunted pale blue orbs, glittering in the pearly light of the moon.

A sharp intake of breath was the only sign that Chloe betrayed of her surprise. The events of the night were coming back to her now, including the dramatic yet extremely enjoyable explanation of why exactly she found herself in Lex's bed, staring half-dreamily into his murky blue eyes.

"Hey." She greeted him quietly, almost afraid to break the crystal silence of his contemplation. She stared curiously back at him, uncomfortably aware of her nakedness underneath the thin coverlet that was draped over her body. 

Lex kissed her gently in reply before drawing closer to her, his hand creeping underneath the sheets to rest on her warm skin. He allowed it to rest there, all the while looking deeply into her eyes. To Chloe, it felt like he was trying to communicate something about his feelings at the moment, feelings that welled so profoundly deep within him that he couldn't articulate into words. 

Or maybe she was just being overly emotional and sentimental due to the tiny but significant fact that she had just experienced one of the more romantic yet earth-shatteringly significant moments of her life. 

"So ..." Chloe said, again breaking the crystal silence. 

"So." Lex echoed, in an equally serious tone. 

"What happens now?" She shifted so that she could prop her head up on her elbow. "Besides the me sneaking back into my house before my dad notices I've been out the whole night thing. He's mellow, but he's not _that _mellow." 

Lex chuckled in appreciation. "You missed the sneaking in without getting caught part. I don't want to see you grounded until the next millennium on my account."

"Not to mention the blindingly obvious question of what the hell you would do without me." 

Lex gently brushed away messy blond tendrils off her face. "Go crazy. And probably feel incredibly lonely." He smiled a little awkwardly at his admission before leaning back away from her, allowing his body to sink more comfortably onto the four poster bed. 

Chloe's forehead creased into a frown and she bit her lip in a whirl of conflicted emotions. She found the whole Lex showing his real feelings part of their relationship slightly wacky and a lot more scary than she had ever imagined. Not that she was going to shrink from the responsibility of being there for Lex - she hoped she was a better person than that. 

It would just take some getting used to. 

"No you wouldn't." She joked, trying to lighten the serious curve of his mouth. "Although, who else but me could drive you insane with my, let's face it, occasionally wacky theories about life, the universe and everything?"

"Who else?" He echoed, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Chloe remained silent as she contemplated the intense set of his handsome features, half-hidden in the shadows of the large, spaciously appointed room. She was suddenly struck by the awesome realisation that getting to know Lex - the real Lex - would entail a whole lot more than just making him smile and spending time doing stuff with him. There was a whole other Lex lurking underneath the comfortable veneer of the reformed Metropolis playboy and confident billionaire-to-be, and for all her investigative abilities that she hoped she possessed, Chloe was only just now scratching the polished surface of Lex. 

Chloe was glad for the darkness that hid her undoubtedly unsettled expression as she drew herself against him, nestling into the familiar confines of his frame. 

She sighed, smiling into his chest. She knew that she would have to get home soon, but she didn't want to leave just yet. It was almost magical the way that she was lying here with Lex now, naked as the day she was born, yet feeling so completely comfortable about it. It felt like the most natural thing to do. 

She sighed again contentedly, acutely aware of the regularity of the heart that pounded against her chest. She tilted her head up slightly to catch him looking unshrinkingly down at her, his eyes dark azure in the moonlight. 

"What?" She asked him gently, almost afraid to snap him out of the raw emotional state he seemed to be in. He had been so quiet, so gentle - in short, so unLex-like, that it was beginning to spook her a little. Chloe liked twists and labyrinths as much as the next reporter, but even this was beginning to tax her a little more than she thought necessary. 

"Nothing." Lex shrugged imperceptibly, breaking their intense eye contact as he looked heavenwards. "I just worry ... you don't know what you're getting into with me, that's all." 

"I know." She said simply, as her gaze shifted to his bared shoulder gleaming pearly in the dim light. "At least, I want to know." Chloe's thought express was interrupted as her eyes caught sight of something that made her instinctively jerk her head up. "What's this?" She asked abruptly. 

She didn't know how she had missed it before. It gleamed pale and large in the moonlit room, a scar that marred the marble-like smoothness of his skin. She wondered fleetingly whether his heart looked like that, a seemingly flawless thing that on closer inspection was marred by emotional scars that only he could feel. 

Chloe reached out and gingerly traced the contours of the scar over his skin, watching as his jaw tensed in anxiety. After an interminable silence he spoke, his voice husky with emotion. "A knife wound." Off Chloe's startled look he elaborated. "Did Clark tell you about Club Zero?" 

Chloe sank back slightly on the bed, propping her head up with her hand so that she could look at him more fully. "I know some of it. I helped Clark try to find you after ... well, that guy kidnapped you. But he never told me what happened. He said," she swallowed. "he said that he didn't feel comfortable telling me stuff that you hadn't even wanted him to know. About your past." 

Lex nodded as a ghost of a smile flittered over his face. "He's the Fort Knox of secrets." He mumbled to himself as Chloe looked on. She was acutely aware that this was something that Lex didn't share easily with anybody, and she didn't want to be too pushy about it. "There are many things in my past that I'm not exactly proud of Chloe." He began, his voice ringing in the deathly quiet of the room. "Most of those things I can live with. But Club Zero ... " His voice shook, forcing to him take a deep breath before continuing. "There was a girl, Amanda. She was engaged to this jerk -"

" - the guy who kidnapped you." Chloe interrupted quietly. 

"Right. He was cheating on her and I thought - I don't know what I thought, but I brought her to Zero one night just so she could see that he was cheating on her. He'd been cheating on her for a while you see." He smiled cuttingly. 

"Sounds like you were just being a good friend. I don't see anything wrong with that." 

"But I wasn't being a good friend. I liked her and frankly, I hated the guy. I thought it was a good way to break them up." He sighed as he sat venomously up. Chloe managed to glimpse the half-regretful, half-resentful set of his jaw before he dipped his head, running a hand through his scalp in agitation. 

She stared at his exposed back, marvelling at the smoothness of his skin before biting her lip in confusion. Her eyes traced the outline of his taut muscles, noting the sudden tension against the smooth outline on his skin. She was beginning to reassess her previous, though perhaps mistaken, impression that Lex was the epitome of coolness and calmness under pressure. While he had always been that way in her presence, she had never really entertained the remote possibility that he may not be like that underneath all the trappings of his self-confidence and wealth. 

Chloe was suddenly reminded of Lana and the night she had met the ex-cheerleader at the graveyard. Chloe had realised that night that it had been entirely too easy to mistake Lana as the happy, vivacious ex-fairy princess, simply because she had played that part so well to the rest of the world. Had Chloe been mistaken about Lex in the same way? To the outside world, Lex was the all powerful, all conquering larger than Smallville individual who knew exactly what to do in almost every situation. But was that what the real Lex was like? 

"Last year I found out that she'd killed herself." He continued after a while, breaking Chloe out of her thoughts. "I didn't even know. I'd wanted to help her so much, to make up for what happened. I thought staying away was the best thing I could do. But even when I'm trying to do something right it ends up ... I end up hurting people anyway." He finished brokenly.

"Hey." Chloe reached out but refrained from touching him at the last minute. She felt like an intruder in his private pain and while she wanted to be there for him, she sensed that it would have been too much for one night for her to put herself into the vortex of his inner turmoil. "But all the things in your past ... they kind of make you the person you are today, don't you think? I mean, without doing and going through all that stuff, you wouldn't be here. I mean you'd be _here _but it wouldn't be _you _being here. It'd be a different you, you know?" She smiled abashedly. "And I think in that convoluted sentence there was an original thought or two in there." 

"You're right." He looked slightly taken aback, and Chloe hardly dared to think that she had seen something about Lex had he hadn't. Chalk one up to the sometimes insecure high school girl with a penchant for over analysing anything and everything except herself. "I wouldn't be me." 

"And I don't want to come off sounding too self-centred or anything, but I kind of like the you that you are now. Scar and shady past and questionable choice of club names to frequent and all." She smiled impishly, hoping to lighten the mood a little. 

He laughed loudly, his eyes sparkling in sudden animation. To Chloe the room suddenly felt inexplicably lighter, although that may have been due to the growing pre-dawn light. Sensing that they had passed some sort of couply milestone, she sank happily against him, unashamedly absorbing the delightful feeling of being in Lex's arms. 

(c) October 2002


	34. Part Thirty Four

****

"Everything In This World" 

by Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Four ~*~*

Chloe bounced into the Torch office, her blonde hair flying with the sheer force of her enthusiasm. "So, guess what we're doing tomorrow?" 

Clark and Pete swivelled around on their somewhat worn office swivel chairs, the bored expressions on their faces oddly mirroring each other in its striking similarity. Pete sighed heavily as Clark turned back again towards the flickering monitor, brushing a handful of floppy brown curls off his forehead. "Chloe, whatever it is - we don't want to hear it." 

"But -" Chloe protested as she entered the room in more sedate strides. 

"Clark's got the situation wired, Chlo." Pete interrupted her abruptly. "School's out in a week, it's the hottest summer in the history of never and," he quickly turned his back on her, effectively blocking her from view, "did I happen to mention that it's like, a 100 degrees outside? All which means -" he gestured towards Clark theatrically as Clark continued. 

"We won't be doing whatever you want us to do Chloe." Clark smiled sheepishly and gestured back at Pete, no doubt trying to lay the blame for the inevitable Chloe fireworks onto his erstwhile best friend. 

Pete shrugged, obviously not bothered by the possibility of impending death by Chloe as she stomped around the table to stand in front of them. "My man here's right on the mark." He calmly ignored her venomous look. "Chloe be reasonable. The sun's shining, the corn's peeling and we're hearing the siren call of two hot babes just waiting for us when we get out of this place. You've probably got your own summer time Lex loving to fast forward to," Chloe blushed furiously, and not even Clark could withstand an uncharacteristic snigger at her expense. "So why don't you cut yourself and us some summer time slack, get yourself out of this stinky sweat hole and have yourself some fun?" 

Chloe crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes shooting daggers at a way-too-satisfied looking Pete. "Okay, before your combined jockstraps rebound and hit both of you in your collective asses, just hear me out." 

"No offence Chloe, but have you noticed that you seem to have an unhealthy fixation on jockstraps?" Clark asked innocently, the telltale twinkle in his eyes telling Chloe that he wasn't as crazily clueless as he sometimes pretended to be. 

"Hey Clark, maybe we could get her some for her birthday. Satisfy her curiosity once and for all." Pete grinned, infuriatingly pleased with himself while Clark looked slightly guilty at enjoying the blush that crept steadily up the exposed skin of her neck. 

But Chloe was not to be outdone. Two can play at that game - or in this case, three. "As much as I think that jockstraps are the funnest gift _ever_, I've already had my curiosity satisfied. Lex was surprisingly helpful in that clothing department." Off their stunned and increasingly horrified looks, she sighed theatrically. "Relax guys, I was just joking." She allowed collective sighs of relief to wash over their faces before continuing, plastering a way-too-bright smile on her face. "Lex doesn't wear jockstraps, he wears silk boxers. D'uh." 

Judging by their now openly horrified, 'way too much information' looks, Chloe decided that Clark and Pete had had enough for one day. That should teach them about taking on Chloe Sullivan, the reigning snark queen of Smallville. 

She smothered a laugh as she hurriedly shoved a myriad of tagged notes, experimental layouts and Smallville Ledger articles away and plonked herself on the edge of the table. "Moving on from that non-image. I've just got a tip from a source about a previously undiscovered species of fish that's been discovered near an unreported meteor site." Off their blank looks, Chloe exasperatedly continued. "Don't you see guys? What if somehow the meteor fragments affected all the fish in the area? If we could catch some of them, have them analysed, maybe we can prove that meteor fragments _do _affect things around here. And if we can prove that - imagine how far it'll go in proving that meteor fragments are at the bottom of some, if not all, of the inherent craziness in this town?" 

Chloe looked at Pete and Clark expectantly, achingly aware that they were not exhibiting the anticipated jumping up and down in excitement reactions she had been half-hoping that they would exhibit. Instead they looked more like stunned ... fish. 

"Mutant fish." Clark repeated, looking dumb-founded and amused at the same time. 

"Mutant ... fish?" Pete asked, not bothering to hide the incredulity in his voice. He threw a worried glance at Clark who shrugged imperceptibly. "Mutant fish?!"

Chloe looked on as they digested the information. 

After a while, Pete took a deep breath. "So?" He asked at last, as Clark ducked his head to try to hide his amusement.

Finally Clark just burst out laughing, his eyes shining with barely controlled amusement. "Chloe, you're really scraping the bottom of the news barrel now. This 'source' doesn't happen to be say, Mark Garron, President of the Science Club?"

Pete sniggered openly in the background, stopping when Chloe trained a pair of deadly hazel eyes on him. "A professional reporter never divulges her sources." 

"Chloe -" 

"Come on guys. This is my last hurrah before school lets out. My editorial swan song before our temporary plunge into the complete and utter insanity known to the common masses as freedom. Pretty please? For me?" She tried her best to look adoringly cute, although she suspected that she was failing miserably. 

Pete looked hard-lined unconvinced while Clark seemed to be wavering. "Chloe, you've still got all next year to do ... whatever fishing you want to do." 

Pete high-fived Clark while Chloe rolled her eyes. "Ha. Funny Clark_._" She made a face at them. "Come on, guys, for me? Best friend Chloe? We just need to find one fish." 

"I ... can't." Clark said lamely. 

"Why?" Chloe demanded, a little too harshly for her liking. She was frankly a little hurt that Clark and Pete were being so surprisingly uncooperative. What had happened to their three musketeers pact in eighth grade? She made a mental note to herself to try to get a refresher on that particular blood oath one of these days. 

Pete continued to ignore her, saying matter-of-factly to Clark. "I'm still getting over the fact that she can say it with a straight face." 

Clark pulled out a bill and waved it in front of Pete. "Five bucks says she can do it more than five times in the next ... ten minutes?" 

"You're on, Clark."

"Hey, I'm right here." Chloe protested loudly. "If you guys don't want to -" 

She was interrupted by Lana's entrance. "Hey guys, are you about finished?" Lana quickly took in the annoyed expression on Chloe's face, the slightly guilty tinge of Clark's expression and the deceptively ignorant look on Pete's face. "What's .... going on here?" She asked curiously. 

Chloe's face brightened. She didn't exactly want to think of it as finding a sure fire way to deal with the Clark being surprisingly uncooperative situation, but she reasoned that a reporter-to-be had to do what a reporter-to-be had to do. "Lana." She exclaimed brightly, crossing over to the other girl with a pointed look towards Clark. "I have a meteor theory to prove, and these reluctant citizens of our leafy little hamlet are refusing to help me prove it. Do you by any chance, want to help me?" 

Lana clutched her folder to her chest warily, although a smile flittered over her face. "What would it involve?" 

"Just hiking to the middle of the national reserve and seeing if we could catch a mutant fish or two. It'll be half a day, tops. If we don't find it, we don't find it. If we do, we stand a chance of proving once and for all, that the meteor showers are the root of all freakish Smallville evils." 

Lana frowned, looking amused and exasperated at the same time. "Mutant fishing on a Saturday, huh? Okay, I'm in." 

Clark crossed over to stand beside Lana, quickly threading his hand through hers. "Nice try pulling the Lana card Chloe, but it just so happens I'm booked for tomorrow. Mom's making me drive her to Metropolis to pick up an antique bureau that she's had her eye on for ages. Can't get out of it." He smiled infuriatingly, acutely aware of his air tight escape from Chloe's clutches and revelling in it. "Wish I was going. I guess I'll just have to meet up with you guys afterward and see these mutant fish for myself." 

Chloe resisted the urge to throw her very expensive computer at him. It was extremely pricey, plus she might miss and get Lana instead which would have put the entire expedition at risk. She settled for giving him a sickly sweet smile instead. "Well, at least Pete and Lana are coming."

"Hey I never said -" 

"Come on Pete. For me?" 

Pete capitulated, looking down trodden that he was agreeing once again to one of Chloe's crazy schemes. "Fine, whatever. Just remember, if one of us gets turned into a freaky meteor mutant thing, it'll be on your head. You'll have to live with it for the rest of your life." 

"Okay." She said infuriatingly, blinking in wide-eyed amusement at his frustration. 

Clark piped up. "Well, I guess that's settled." He exchanged a meaningful look with Lana. "Guys we have to go. Talon duties call and ... other stuff. " He reddened while Lana coughed conspicuously. 

Chloe shook off the tingly sensation on her skin that told her not to dwell too much on the matter. Plus, she really didn't want to know what kind of sickly couply stuff Clark and Lana were apt to get into. 

Lana straightened. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then?" 

"Yeah." Chloe and Pete echoed, as Clark and Lana disappeared from view. 

(c) October 2002


	35. Part Thirty Five

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Five ~*~*

Pete walked over to Chloe and handed her his cell. 

She looked at it in confusion. "What am I supposed to do with this?" 

"Call Lex." 

She frowned dubiously. "What? Why? I thought you couldn't stand him." She shoved it against his chest. "As much as I'd to think that the two of you have bonded manly behind my back - somehow, I'm thinking that's not the reason why you want me to call him."

He shoved the cell back towards her. "Well, it's really his dirty name and even dirtier money I can't stand." At the brief look of hurt that flickered across Chloe's face, he paused. "Look, the last few months ... I've missed doing stuff with you Chloe." Off her look of protest, he hurriedly continued. "Not that I'm blaming - I mean I've still got my issues with Lex. I'm just not going to let that get in the way of spending time with my favourite girl any more." He smiled cheekily as he added. "Besides, if I'm getting roped into this painful mutant fish hunt, I figure he should suffer too just like the rest of us. The Luthors have it too easy anyway." 

Chloe spluttered, indignant and emotional enough from Pete's touching admission to temporarily lose capacity for anything resembling normal speech. "Painful?!"

"And anyway," Pete continued, eyeing Chloe warily. "I bet he'd _love _to come. You know, the way you've been mooning over his ass, I'm surprised Lex wasn't the first one you decided to _reel_ in, pun so fully intended." 

Chloe waved her hands melodramatically. "Okay, can you _not _be using the words 'moon', 'ass' and Lex in the same sentence?" 

Pete looked at her, wide-eyed and way too innocent. "What's the matter Chlo, seen a little too much mooning action for your comfort?" 

Chloe spluttered, hoisting her bag up to her shoulders and walking away indignantly. She also had her hands in her ears for good measure, but that wasn't enough to drown out Pete's parting shot. "Mark my words Chloe. The way you two have been lojacked to each other, he'd probably drop everything and come running after you to help your crazy mutant fishing." 

Chloe reflected that maybe Pete had been learning way too much snarkyness for her comfort. 

***

"Mutant fish?" Lex's voice echoed doubtfully over the line. There was a slight pause, in which Chloe hoped that he was deep in thought and not smothering very well-concealed laughter. "Would you believe me if I said I absolutely had to wash my scalp tomorrow?" 

"Lex." She whined, hoping her voice sounded more delightfully endearing than petulant. 

"Okay, okay." He relented, sighing heavily in mock-martyrdom. "Remember Chloe, I'm only doing this for you. Not for any ... mutant fish. For you." She could almost hear him rolling his eyes over the line. "What time should I meet you guys?" 

"Oh - not too early. You know me and early starts. Not a good mix. At least if you valued your health or anything and hey, who said anything about anyone else coming?" 

"Come on Chloe. You and your crazy meteor theories? Clark and Pete have to be coming too, or else I'll feel decidedly short changed." 

"Well Clark can't come because he's got to drive his mom to Metropolis tomorrow, but Lana's coming. So you won't have any shortage of people to snivel to." 

"Luthors don't snivel Chloe." Lex replied indignantly.

"Whatever." She said infuriatingly. "11 sharp tomorrow, bring your own gourmet sandwiches and or fresh beverages. You know my culinary non-skills don't approach anywhere near your minimum standards of taste. It's best to bring something edible if you don't want to starve your billionaire ass off." 

He chuckled lightly over the phone, and even after all these months Chloe still had to do a double-take when she heard one of those laughs. Especially when she was the lucky recipient of one. "I'll see what I can do Chloe." 

"Thanks Lex." She hesitated slightly before continuing. Lately she had been finding the end of their phone conversations awkward, for the very precise trauma of whether to say the dreaded three words of romantic doom, known to other people outside her head as 'I love you'. It sounded unbelievably corny and really, you couldn't get mashed potatoes any more mushy, but there was an itch to say it roaming around her skin and it seemed that it wanted to be satisfied no matter how big of a fool it made her out to be. 

She floundered awkwardly. "I, er ... thanks." She finished off lamely. 

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line before he answered. "Love you too Chloe." 

***

The next day dawned bright and sunny, with a faint hint of a summery breeze in the air, gently rustling the trees around her. It was neither too hot nor too humid and was excruciatingly pleasant for a Kansas almost-summer day. 

It was perfect, Chloe thought, for what the others not-so-secretly referred to as their inaugural mutant fish hunt. Even though she felt a slight sting that no one else seemed to take the expedition seriously, she philosophically reflected that it was probably good practice for the future when she would probably have to say and do all sorts of seemingly silly and wacky things, all in the name of quality journalism and a by line that would blast all other by lines off the face of the page. 

Besides, despite their outward reluctance and ridicule of the day's coming trip, the coolness of the fact that Lex, Lana and Pete had agreed to do this with her wasn't entirely lost on Chloe. 

Chloe had readied everything in anticipation for the big day. No being caught out for not having enough sugary sustenance or lack of caffeine intake for them. It was nearly noon already and while Chloe needed all the sleep she could get, she didn't want to resemble some bizarre Stephen King sloth creature who slept all day and only awoke at night. Not to mention the fact that she still wasn't entirely comfortable with Lex seeing her in her variety of tatty sleep wear. 

So she felt reasonably good when Lex stepped warily out of his silver Porsche and walked up to her front door dutifully armed with a basket of deliciously edible gourmet goodies and sweetly enough, a flask of what Chloe suspected to be freshly brewed Talon coffee. 

She sighed in delicious ecstasy. Score one for Lex on the extremely thoughtful boyfriend scale. 

"Hey." She greeted as she ran to him, giving him an excited kiss. She knew she was behaving just a little too grade schoolish for her liking, but she didn't care. The thrill of chasing after a potentially amazing story always sent her into a buzz of not entirely caffeineated induced excitement. 

She was about to say something when she stopped herself abruptly, taking in his unusual appearance in barely concealed astonishment.

Chloe had never seen Lex dressed in anything else beside the seemingly endless array of designer suits, ties and tailored pants that he habitually wore around town. She had seen him decked out in greys and blacks and purples of every conceivable and expensively woven hue, and she supposed, had seen him in nothing at all, but she didn't want to dwell on that tantalisingly salivating thought at the moment. She was also somewhat acquainted with the 'hot and sweaty from exercise' Lex, as she had seen him once or twice after he had just completed a work out. 

But this was entirely different. Today he had on a comfortably fitted white t-shirt that, while not tight, definitely accentuated the curves of his upper body and arm muscles in a very aesthetically pleasing way. He had on equally comfortable khaki pants and sensible, though extremely pricey looking, hiking shoes. A Metropolis Sharks cap topped off the outfit.

Lex looked very outdoorsy, relaxed and comfortable - in short, very not his usual Lex-self. 

His eyes twinkled brilliantly in the bright sunshine, and Chloe suspected that he had probably guessed the general drift of her thoughts regarding his appearance. "Hey." He smiled down at her, frowning in bemusement at the same time. "What are you doing?" 

Chloe had the good grace to blush. Rich and charming boyfriend or not, it probably wasn't a good idea to stare so unabashedly at someone without giving them a sane person reason for it. "You look ... different." She said lamely, trying to shrug further explanation off.

"You mean this?" He gestured, holding out his hands to present his outfit to her. "I admit it's a little different to what I usually wear, but I guess when in Rome ... " His frown deepened as he contemplated her still slightly shocked expression. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. It's just ... you look younger. More like ... us." 

"Us?" He frowned.   
She rushed on. "Oh not that - well, I didn't mean it like that. Just ... more our age. I mean, sometimes I forget that you're supposed to be 22 and not, you know, older." 

"I'm not really in my dotage just yet, but thanks Chloe." He stared dubiously at her. "You really know how to make a guy feel special." He added, with a sarcastic twinkle in his eye. 

"You know you're special." She said, before cringing inwardly at the innate cheesiness of the remark. It was so not a good idea to spout that much cheese in the morning. But Lex didn't seem to mind the drippiness of the cheese as he smiled openly back at her. 

They sat outside together, sharing the flask of freshly brewed coffee in the late morning sunshine while they waited for Lana and Pete to show up. Chloe had to work very hard to conceal her continued amazement at the stark change in Lex's appearance. It probably made her a very shallow person, but until today she hadn't realised how important clothes and presentation were to her perception of someone. Lex's boutique store variety of designer outfits had always emphasised the fact that he was from a different world, a world where people didn't travel in cars but limousines, who didn't cook but had in-house chefs, a world where ... well she got the idea. 

But today, decked out in these casual hiking clothes, Lex looked almost _normal_. Which was an extremely unpolitically correct thing to say but then really, if a person couldn't even think unpolitically correct things then what was the point of thinking at all? Which was a really lame justification for her innate shallowness, but it was her mind, so Chloe decided to accept that particular fact and move on before Lex discovered that she was capable of carrying on entire conversations with herself inside her head. 

They had a name for people like that - stark, raving mad. 

"This is nice." Lex commented quietly, gazing out at the house across the street. A gentle breeze rustled the overhanging trees, sprinkling a mixture of freshly mowed grass and greening leaves over them. The fresh smell of hay mingled with the musky scent of summer, a promising sweetness almost humming in the air around them. "I wouldn't mind sitting out here all day. Maybe even sitting out here for the rest of my life." 

"You'd get bored." 

"Yeah, probably." He conceded with a smile. "But sometimes I think it'd be nice to ... have a different life. I wonder what I would be if I had grown up ... here." 

And not with Lionel Luthor as a father, Chloe added silently. She sipped quietly on her coffee as she contemplated his profile, calm and still in the wind that was gently rustling his clothes. She was suddenly pierced by a white hot shaft of sympathy for him, coupled with a bizarre need to wrap her arms around him in a clearly idiotic and nonsensical attempt to protect him from his past. Which was of course, humanly impossible but really, could she help feeling that she wanted to claw the eyes out of anyone who had ever hurt Lex in this life?

He seemed to sense a little of what she was thinking, because she found herself the lucky recipient of one of his rare, unguarded moments as he smiled reassuringly back at her. 

The smile caught her breath. Although Chloe was getting slightly hot and sweating like a very well boiled lobster in the almost midday summertime heat, she found Lex's smile mesmerisingly brilliant. Not because it was the brightest smile she had ever seen from Lex - far from it - but because it pierced through her normally cynical armour with such frictionless ease. It felt for a moment like a two-way channel of wordless communication had suddenly opened up, allowing an effortless connection between them that almost knocked Chloe senseless with its sheer force. It was like a meeting or joining of souls, except for the fact that Chloe would never have uttered anything so ridiculously romantic and therefore couldn't own up to feeling it, even in the depths of her mind. 

She instinctively shifted closer to him, threading her arm around his and weaving her fingers through his long slim ones. She looked up to find Lex studying their entwined hands, as if it held the key to all the answers in the universe. 

They sat in comfortable, drifting silence as they waited. A truck roared past, laden with fresh produce before quickly disappearing from view. 

Lana and Pete soon arrived, and the four of them set off. Pete had offered to drive since the four of them in no way could have fitted comfortably into Lex's Porsche with all the extraneous gear that they were collectively lugging. Lana had evidently been under the mistaken impression that they were going to trek to Nepal or somewhere equally as arduous and distant, because she had landed on Chloe's doorstep resembling a very well-equipped camping and hiking travelling salesperson. 

Chloe teased Lana when she first glimpsed the other girl. "Lana, you do realise we aren't going on an expedition to the south pole or anything?" 

"It never hurts to be prepared Chloe." Lana said firmly, dragging her very fat and probably very heavy back pack in the boot of Pete's car laboriously. She slammed the top down firmly, a look of satisfaction gracing her face. 

The drive to the reserve was uneventful and soon they found themselves in a clearing, unloading the boot full of stuff from Pete's car. 

Lex puffed somewhat ungracefully as he attempted to half drag, half pull Lana's bag from the boot, with Pete valiantly helping when it became clear that it was well and truly stuck. "Lana, you know that you're going to have to carry this around with you when we actually start walking?" He said facetiously to her. "I mean, you do realise that Clark's not going to suddenly fly in and help you carry all this stuff while you walk beside him looking delicate and feminine?"

"It's not that heavy Lex." Lana protested. "I don't hear Pete complaining." 

"That's because I've got no breath left _to _complain." Pete leaned against the edge of the car, visibly panting. "I don't want to be agreeing with a Luthor or anything, but are you _sure _you need all this crap?"

Lana scoffed in indignation. "Clark and I go hiking all the time and he never complains. And this is almost as much stuff as I usually pack with him. Besides, I was the one who put it in the car in the first place." 

Pete and Lex looked dubiously at each other. Glancing at Lana's annoyance, Lex offered. "Pete and I will drag it out for you. But maybe you should just try to walk with this. See if you can, okay?"

"Fine." Lana huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Chloe watched the whole exchange in silent amusement. She was probably in the unique position of appreciating the irony of having a Lex and Pete double team on Lana, who incidentally was now deprived of her tall, dark and handsome safety blanket of yore. 

With much grunting and flexing of actually quite healthy looking muscles, Lex and Pete managed to get Lana's bag out of the car. Pete doubled over and rested his hands on his knees, panting for breath while Lex allowed himself to lean against the side of the car, grimacing with exertion. 

Chloe silently offered him a Kleenex. She actually wanted to wipe the beads of perspiration from his face herself, but she thought that would have been a little too much of a display for the others to stomach. 

He took it from her gratefully. "Did you bring a box of that? Because I don't think I've sweated this much since I accidentally fell asleep in the sauna." 

"What, you couldn't find an empty boiler room to crash in?" She smirked, enjoying his discomfort. She was a very, very bad person - but who cared? 

Chloe watched Lana as she struggled to get the back pack onto her shoulders, while Lex and Pete unloaded the rest of their gear. Eventually Lana accomplished the task, managing to look only slightly irritated that the back pack wasn't as light as she obviously thought. 

But she couldn't stand up. Try as she might, Lana could not obtain lift off with her very heavy looking back pack. Pete smirked and Chloe rewarded him with a heavy whack on the chest. Despite her obvious effort - and Chloe suspected that Lana was trying very, very hard - 

she was actually kind of really stubborn that way - the ex-cheerleader just couldn't stand up with it. She could probably walk a few metres with it, or carry it if she didn't have to walk, but since both walking and carrying were going to be essential functions for them in the next few hours, it looked like she had a problem with a capital P. 

"Oh fine." She muttered at last, clearly breathless from exertion. She threw the bag on the floor of the clearing in disgust ."I guess I could take out the portable gas stove." 

Chloe came forward and helped Lana take out all the extraneous equipment from her bag - clearly Lana would *_not* _be needing an emergency flashlight the size of Kansas, amongst other things - and zipped everything back up into its neat little compartments. 

"Okay." Chloe slapped Lana's back playfully, her enthusiasm for a potential news story coming to the fore once more. "Here we go. This is it! We're going to find some mutant fish!"

She pretended not to notice the silent though very palatable groaning behind her as she quickly forged ahead of them., disappearing quickly with a rustle into the thick foliage beyond.

(c) October 2002


	36. Part Thirty Six

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Six ~*~*

The four of them walked for an hour or so before they broke for a late lunch, enjoying the delicious breeze as it whipped their sweat-drenched hair in the afternoon heat. Although the weather had started off mild and comfortably warm for exercise, it was now scathingly hot, the sun bearing down on them with a ferocity that reminded Chloe all too strongly of her skin's inability to tan or withstand anything stronger than artificial sunlight. If she wasn't careful, she would resemble a giant blonde lobster tomorrow - an unattractive image if ever there was one.

They soon set off again. They had seen no signs of fish - even of the natural variety - and despite the refreshing allure of actual greenery around them and the invigorating exercise they were undertaking, everyone, including Chloe, was feeling that perhaps they weren't going to find any mutant 'proving the existence of her meteor theories' kind of fish any time soon. 

"Chloe, can we go home now?" Pete piped up in the comfortable stillness around them. 

"Pete, do you want to contemplate _not _sounding like my grandmother?" Chloe snapped, annoyance flaring within her. She was probably being unfair, but the impending failure of the day's hike rankled. This was, of course, a natural consequence of being too optimistic about certain things. She tended to get disappointed a lot. 

"Cool grandmother." He snapped back, annoyance flashing over his normally placid face as he rounded on her. "Chlo, it's hotter than hell and we've finished all our food." He stopped and glanced over at Lex. "Those chilli dogs rocked by the way. They had sauerkraut in them, didn't they?" 

Lex nodded, smothering a smile at the harassed looking Chloe. "I think so." 

He returned to the point. "We've finished all our food, I'm hot and tired, and I'm keen to head off home and get ready for my hot date with Erica -" 

"You and your hot dates!" Chloe cut him off indignantly. "Maybe you should try not thinking about preening for your _hot date _and concentrate more on what we're trying to do here." 

Pete dropped his pack onto the floor, glaring soundly at Chloe. "Hey, this was _your _thing and _I _was the one who was dragged kicking and screaming along for the ride! Don't go off at me now just 'cause things didn't work out!" 

"Who says they didn't work out?" She retorted, her face beet red with anger. Somewhere within the confines of her irrational brain, Chloe knew that she was being unreasonable as hell. 

"Well, do you _see _any mutant fish anywhere?" He screamed at her, all trace of the usually nice and calm Pete Ross temporarily disappearing from view. "For that matter, do you _see _any fish at all?"

"Okay, this isn't helping." Lana stepped in forcefully, putting herself squarely between them and in the line of fire. "You guys need to calm down. No one said this was going to be easy." 

"Lana's right." Lex firmly placed a calming hand on Chloe's shoulder, causing the tension from her knotted muscles to drain effortlessly away. She sighed as she threw her almost unbearably heavy back pack down onto the dusty ground, collapsing onto it dramatically. 

"Damn." She muttered, looking conciliatory at Pete who had collapsed in an unjock-like heap beside her. "I guess this was kind of a waste of time, wasn't it?" 

"Well I wouldn't say that." Pete smiled ruefully, anxiously running a hand through his sweat soaked hair. "It's a nice day, the sun's shining and I got to have some Luthor chilli dogs. I wouldn't call it a waste. Plus, I got to see Lana almost put the smack down on that back pack of hers. I think Clark would've paid to see that." 

"Hey." Lana protested, giving Pete a gentle shove from behind. 

"Pete's right." Lex sat down on the other side of Chloe, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "It wasn't an entirely wasted day. Pete and I bonded over the chilli dogs that Mrs Andrews prepared for us. By the way," he turned to Pete curiously, "you do know we had other things besides chilli dogs, don't you?" 

"Yeah, but they were all rabbit food." 

Lex closed his eyes in mock annoyance at Pete's typically teenaged tone. "And I for one am glad you organised today. Did you know I've never been hiking before?"

"Really?" Chloe asked, bringing her downcast eyes to meet his earnest ones. 

"Really. And I quite enjoyed it. Good exercise keeps the mind alert." He explained, covering his genuine desire to cheer her up with a devilish look. "We'll rest up here for a while before we start heading back." He squinted, glancing at the orange orb of the late afternoon sun. "It's getting late and unless these mutant fish glow in the dark, we aren't really going to find anything else today." 

"Okay." She agreed warily, feeling slightly better despite the pallor of failure hanging over mind. Try as she might, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that her hopes for the day weren't going to be fulfilled. Chloe was kind of manic that way about her news stories. 

They rested for a while before finally heading back to Pete's car. The chill of the impending night slowly crept into the air as they wound their way back, tracing their trail that they had walked on a few hours before. 

"You okay?" Lex asked quietly as they walked side by side.

Chloe shrugged, trying to keep her disappointment from creeping into her voice. She knew that she had a tendency to set herself up for falls, especially when the objective was clearly unattainable - or nearly unattainable as these fictitious mutant fish were proving. She should have known that finding evidence of all Smallville weirdness had been a stretch. She should have listened to Pete and Clark about how crazy she was being. "Yeah, I'm just disappointed." She smiled warily as she looked up into his eyes, empathetic and warm in the waning light. 

Lex glanced surreptitiously at Lana and Pete walking in front of them, engrossed in a conversation that seemed to involve a lot of hand gestures. He wrapped a comforting arm around Chloe, drawing her close against him. "Don't be. You gave it your best shot." He kissed her lightly as he caught her hand in his. 

She pouted, looking up from their entwined hands to his warmly sparkling eyes. "But it was a stupid idea." She said, her vulnerability suddenly bursting forth from her in waves. 

"It wasn't stupid. Well, mutant fish ..." He grinned apologetically. "But that's not the point. The point is that you have vision - you see and go after things that other people don't see. And whether you find it or whether it turns out to be stupid in hindsight doesn't diminish the one thing that sets you apart from so many other people around here." 

"And what's that?" Chloe asked quietly, somehow almost afraid to know the answer. 

"You'll do great things, Chloe. You were born to do great things, because you have the vision to do things that other people won't even attempt. You should remember that." 

Chloe stopped and faced him, tears of gratitude welling in her eyes. Never in all her wildest hunting mutant fish dreams had she contemplated the possibility that Lex would ever say anything like what he had just said to her. It warmed every sinew of her body to hear his praise, like she was actually a smart and intelligent and worthwhile person that she sometimes doubted she was. It was nice that he thought of her that way. 

Scratch that, it was beyond nice, it was indescribably incredible. 

"Thanks." She planted a lingering kiss on his lips, tasting a heady mix of salmon and chocolate and caffeine and something that was uniquely Lex. She smiled impishly up at him. "I'll remind you of that the next time I drag you out in the middle of nowhere looking for mutant fish." 

He grinned devilishly back at her. "I'll look forward to it." 

They walked on, the sunlight noticeably waning as they continued to trek down the trail. 

Chloe heard it before she realised its significance. She gripped Lex's arm in excitement as she stopped abruptly, whirling around to stop the others in their tracks. "Do you guys hear that?" 

Lana cocked her head, frowning as she nodded. "Yeah. Sounds like ... water?" 

Pete glanced at her before quickly looking around for the source of the noise. "I think it's this way." He indicated as he disappeared behind some tangled shrubbery. 

Chloe, Lex and Lana quickly followed. Soon they found themselves in a small clearing, barely large enough to accommodate the four of them. Chloe absently scratched her neck as an errant branch brushed against her.

They all heard it now, a loud, gentle trickling that suggested that the source of the sound was definitely somewhere nearby. Chloe walked around, determined to find water if it was the last thing she did. 

Well, the last thing she did _here _anyway. 

"Look." Suddenly Pete's excited voice cut through their perplexed stillness and they all hurried past the other side of the clearing after him. Chloe ran heedlessly after Pete and would have died a horrible, flying death if Lex hadn't pulled her short, preventing her from toppling over the edge of the rocky outcrop. 

"Thanks." She said breathlessly, peering over the edge and realising the sheer height that she had almost fallen. It looked to be around twenty feet of steeply slanting ground, almost a sheer drop, with no footing beside the randomly scattered roots and twigs just visible against the rocky surface. Below, a stream was clearly visible. "How do we get down?"

"Climb?" Pete's uncertainty echoed in the silence. 

"I don't think so." Lana joined Chloe as she peered over the edge, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "There isn't all that much footing, and it'd be too easy to just slip. We'll have to find another way down." 

"We'll have to do it another day." Lex gripped Chloe tightly, putting a restraining hand on her arm as if reading her thrashing impatience. "Chloe, it's getting dark and it'll be too dangerous to try anything in the dark. We'll come back and bring Clark to carry all our stuff, " he looked pointedly at Lana who mock glared back at him, "and try to find another way down."

She nodded in resignation. Suddenly a peal of thunder rumbled ominously above, making the foliage around them shake slightly. Pete looked up, scrutinising the rapidly darkening sky. "I think there's a storm coming." 

"Okay." Chloe sighed, trying to push back the eagerness recoiling inside her at the thought of delaying their search. 

As she turned to go Chloe felt her foot snag on something. She felt herself pitching helplessly over the edge of the outcrop, arms flailing helplessly and her body desperately out of balance. She felt Lex's familiarly strong hands grab her desperately from behind in an effort to pull her back, but she still felt the momentum carry them over. 

The next few seconds whirled by so quickly that Chloe's clearly incapable brain wasn't able to comprehend what exactly had happened until a few seconds later. 

It took her a moment to realise that despite toppling over the edge, she hadn't actually fallen over the edge. Instead she was frantically clinging onto some of the rough shrubbery that happened to grow along the ledge. 

Chloe looked up, reaching for Lex's hand in order to pull herself back up. Instead she was hauled over by the combined efforts of Pete and Lana, with Chloe clawing rather ineffectively in the process. She breathed a sigh of relief, opening her mouth to thank them both when the words caught at her throat. 

Lana was staring over the rocky outcrop, horror plainly etched on her face. 

It took a moment for Chloe to fully process the significance of Lana's look. 

Chloe had fallen and had Lex had fallen with her, trying to prevent her fall. Except that she had tenaciously grabbed the ledge while her momentum had carried him over the edge and into the darkness beyond. 

(c) November 2002


	37. Part Thirty Seven

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Seven ~*~*

Chloe swallowed, incomprehension and dawning horror marking her features as she stared sightlessly at the empty space where Lex should have been. 

"Oh man." She heard Pete whisper behind her. 

Chloe whipped around, picking herself off the rough surface and glancing wildly about for any sign of Lex. Maybe he hadn't fallen over the edge, maybe he was playing some sick and elaborately inappropriate game of hide and seek, freaking Chloe out and trying to give her an almost-coronary just in the name of fun. 

Except that it was so not Lex's style, and besides, she had to confront herself with the fact that it was the least likely explanation for his absence. 

With a sinking heart, she rushed over to the edge of the outcrop and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Lex!" 

There was no answer. Shaking with irrepressible anxiety and slightly delayed shock from her own narrow escape, she desperately peered out into the growing darkness, trying to see where Lex could have fallen to. Chloe shivered as a brisk wind blew, swirling the leaves and foliage around them and prompting goosebumps to appear on her exposed flesh. 

She felt a rising tide of panic now, and it was all she could do to not give in to the almost primal urge of screaming and throwing herself down onto the ground and cry like a helpless 18th century damsel in distress. 

Calm down Chloe, she chastised to herself. Having hysterics wasn't going to help Lex right now. 

"I ... I think I see him." Chloe was pulled from the thoughts rapidly churning inside her hyperactive brain by Lana's hesitant voice. 

"What? Where?" Chloe quickly approached the other girl, who pointed near the water's edge some metres below. 

Chloe squinted in the growing darkness, blinking several times as she carefully surveyed the terrain underneath her. It took her only a few moments to pinpoint what Lana had been pointing at. 

Lex's still form lay crumpled in a small ditch just to the side of the small river, one of his legs lying at an impossible angle and drenched as it lay in the shallows of the river. His cap had flown off and a patch of red was clearly visible as it trickled down the edge of his cheek. 

"I'm going down." Almost as soon as the words had flown out of her mouth, Chloe realised that she really meant it. Sheer drop or not, dangerous to climb down with her non-existent rock climbing skills or not, she _was _going down. Nothing on the face of the planet, or the universe for that matter, would stop her. 

Pete gripped her tightly on the arm. "Chloe -"

"Let - me - go." Chloe gritted her teeth as she attempted to shrug his hold off.

"Look, I've seen you pull all kinds of wackies, but I can't let you do this." 

"What?" Chloe screamed, not even attempting to cover the hysteria in her voice. "You're not going to _let _me?!" 

Pete closed his eyes momentarily, trying to remain calm in the face of a clearly rampaging Chloe. "You know Clark - and not to mention Lex - would have my ass for this if I actually let you go down there." 

"So what do you want me to do Pete? Just stand here and cry and look helplessly on while Lex is just down there, possibly badly hurt and maybe bleeding to death but hey, as long as _Chloe's _all right everything's hunky dory?" She breathlessly screamed back at him, before her voice dropped down into a deadly pitch. "Four words: I don't think so."

"Chloe." Lana's soothing voice cut into the midst of her madness. 

"What?" Chloe snapped as she turned around to face Lana. Her panicked hazel eyes met Lana's wide iridescent brown ones, and a flash of understanding illuminated between them. 

Pete looked on in puzzlement as Lana dropped her back pack onto the dusty ground, quickly kneeling as she rummaged through it and pulled things haphazardly out onto the clearing. Chloe hastily crossed to the other girl, helping Lana sift through the equipment that she pulled in succession out of her bag. "Please tell me with all the crap you packed there's a rope in there somewhere." She muttered, unable to mask the rising desperation in her tone. 

"I think I did." Lana replied distractedly, not pausing to brush sticky tendrils of hair that had fallen over her face. "Here it is." 

Chloe quickly grabbed the coil of rope from Lana's outstretched hands and proceeded to the edge of the outcrop. 

"This is crazy Chloe." Pete uttered behind her with an air of resignation. "What are you going to do down there? You can't carry him up. All of us together can't heft him up from there - and not to mention any broken bones which means we can't move him or -" 

"Pete, I may be crazy but I'm not delusional just yet. I know I'm not going to Wonder Woman him up from there. I just ..." She paused as her suddenly manic energy seemed to drain out of her. "I don't want him to be alone." 

Her anguished eyes met Pete's in the stillness, the silence palatable as the distinct odour of the impending storm wafted over them. Pete glanced up at the rapidly rolling clouds above. "Okay." He nodded, abruptly going to Lana's back pack and organising the myriad of equipment around it. "Lana and I will go for help. We'll leave you with some of our stuff just in case." He picked up a flashlight and a small blanket. "Take these, you'll need it."

She silently took them from him. "Thanks Pete." She said quietly as her eyes burned with gratitude. 

Chloe watched as Lana stuffed some of hers and Pete's combined equipment into the bag before fastening it securely. Lana flashed her a comforting smile and Chloe felt some of her anxiety drain away. Ordinarily she would have instinctively turned to Clark for help but now, bereft of Clark's typically strong presence, she was surprised to find that she had as much faith in Pete and Lana to come through for her as she would have had in Clark. 

She guessed that this was what it felt like to have true friends she could trust with her life. 

"You ready?" Pete had tied the rope to the trunk of the largest and sturdiest tree on the edge of the clearing and was now yanking it with all his might in order to test its strength. Chloe was momentarily struck by Pete's total calm and coolness in the face of hysterical danger - or more precisely, a hysterical Chloe. 

She came over to him, letting out an explosive breath. She gripped the rope tightly. "Ready as I'll never be." Pete flashed her a slightly cheeky smile, before slowly lowering her down the edge of the outcrop. 

Chloe was no mountaineer, and to say that she was scared out of her not so considerably large mind would have been the understatement of the millennium. Throw in a distinct discomfort with heights in general and it was a wonder that Chloe had the capacity to grip the rope as tightly as she was currently gripping it. She figured that if she closed her eyes and imagined that she was somewhere else - anywhere but hanging off a twenty feet mini cliff - she could probably forget about the queasy fear that insisted on riding rough shod around her stomach and threatening to dislodge the gourmet smoked salmon and capers sandwich that Lex had so generously provided this afternoon. 

She gripped the rope tightly. It was only twenty feet - twenty feet too many in her harassed opinion - but she had to do this. Leaving Lex down there with anyone other than herself was so clearly not an option. And leaving Lex down there, hurt and with anyone other than herself was unthinkable. So she didn't even bother thinking about it. 

Nevertheless, she was interminably grateful when her feet touched solid, though squishy ground again. "Touchdown." She shouted, craning her neck up to spy Pete peering down at her, leaning over the edge to do so. 

The rope dangled invitingly as Pete let the full length of it go. "Chlo, if you guys can climb out the rope's still tied to the tree." She heard muffled conversation between Pete and Lana. "Lana's going to roll her pack down now. You probably should get out of the way." 

Almost as soon as Chloe hurried out of bombing range, Lana's back pack thudded to the ground, bouncing a few metres before landing at her feet. 

She hoisted the bag onto her shoulders with difficulty, while scuffling sounds filtered to her ears above as Pete and Lana prepared to set off. After a moment, Lana's head appeared over the edge. "Don't worry Chloe. We'll be back soon." She smiled reassuringly as she disappeared from view. 

Chloe stared into the empty air where Lana had been for a few moments before collecting herself. "Right." She muttered breathlessly. She figured talking to herself in the middle of nowhere couldn't possibly count for madness, especially in a situation like this. "Go to Lex and everything will be fine. Or just a little bit less worse than it already is." She reasoned. 

She carefully threaded her way toward Lex in the growing darkness with the blanket and flashlight that Pete had given her in hand, avoiding the less dubiously rough parts of the terrain. There wasn't much room for walking, as Chloe discovered that there didn't seem to be much of a river bank per se - just the river and a hardly navigable strip of boggy mud before the steep slant of the rocky outcrop. Definitely no place to have a romantic interlude for two. 

She shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts. Way to focus Chloe, she berated herself. 

She ran the last few steps to Lex, throwing herself heedlessly onto the soggy ground beside him. "Lex?" She whispered, uncertainty colouring her already peaked voice. 

Seeing no movement, Chloe gingerly touched his cool forehead, using the edge of her shirt to wipe away the rapidly congealing blood on the side of his face. At her touch he jerked to consciousness.

She watched breathlessly as his eyes opened slowly, blinking in momentary confusion. "Lex?" She asked, unable to reign in her excitement. After all, having a painfully aware Lex was much more comforting and way less scary then an unconscious one. Not to mention the fact that she would have someone to be scared with. 

He made an unintelligible sound in reply as she quickly covered him with the blanket in her hands.

"Are you hurt badly? Do you need water? Um, I think I have some." She frantically tried to unzip Lana's tightly bound back pack, tugging ineffectively at the straps. 

"Chloe." His voice sounded raspy and throaty, but otherwise interestingly normal. "What are you doing down here?" 

She ignored him. "Do you remember what happened? Oh wait, do you know who you are?" She asked anxiously, unable to push the wide variety of damage that could possibly have been done to him from her mind, curtesy of her guilty predilection for watching one too many medical dramas. His spine could have been damaged which meant that Chloe shouldn't move him, or at least, shouldn't move ... something. Or he could have concussion, or amnesia or something equally as horrible. Or he could be internally bleeding, which meant ... Chloe had no idea what it meant she should do. She was a complete idiot and also - what had made her think of this idiotic trip to the middle of nowhere anyway? If she hadn't been so pushy and insistent about the mutant fish thing, none of this would be happening. 

"Relax Chloe. I'm fine." He tried to sit up but even his Luthor stoicalness couldn't cover the intense look of pain that racked his face at the slight movement. He sighed painfully before collapsing back onto the ground again. 

Chloe brought the flask of water that she had retrieved from Lana's pack to his lips and watched as he drank greedily. 

After he had finished, she said insistently. "Wiggle your hands and toes." 

"Chloe -"

"Just do it!" She was beginning to sound slightly hysterical which didn't matter to her, since Lex was hurt and it was so clearly all her fault for luring him out here. He had told her that he had never been hiking before, which meant that he would never have been in this much trouble if only she had kept her out-of-control reporting tendencies to a much more sedate level. 

Lex obediently wiggled his hands. "My toes are wiggling, by the way. So no spinal injury." He added helpfully.

"I'm sorry Lex." She said balefully, her eyes meeting his and misting with rapidly welling tears. "It's all my fault you're down here. If it wasn't for me you'd be in your ancestral castle having tea and scones and not that you ever have tea or scones but you could be having them -"

"Hey." His outstretched hand snaked out from his side to draw over hers, gripping it tightly. "Unless you actually pushed me over the edge - and I'm taking a huge leap of faith here that you didn't - none of this is your fault. It's just one of those things. Besides," he grinned insolently through his grimace of pain, "I haven't really been hurt all this year. I don't think I've been meeting my yearly quota."

"Lex." Chloe protested weakly, smiling through her tears. She stared down at him, her face a mask of concern. "Are you sure you're okay? You do remember your name, right? Who's the President right now? What's your date of birth? When -"

"My name is Alexander Joseph Luthor and basically Chloe, I'm fine. Between you and me, I think you've been watching a little too much TV."

"You're surprisingly chatty for someone who almost _died_." She bit back, relief and annoyance heightening her emotion.

"Comes with the experience." He said nonchalantly, giving her a roguish smile. 

"Are you _sure _you're okay?" She reiterated uncertainly.

He sighed somewhat dramatically. "I'm fine. Maybe some cracked ribs and a broken leg. I'd say to stop nagging but then I'd be scared for my life." 

She let his barb go unpunished. After all, she had to cut the man some slack for being in excruciating pain. "How does your head feel?" 

"Bald." He replied nonchalantly, and Chloe had to smother a giggle despite her anxiety. Trust Lex to make her laugh inappropriately in the midst of drama.

"Lex." She said in a tone of mild rebuke. She gingerly shifted his upper body and slipped herself under him, so that he was now cradled in her lap. She heard him hiss slightly in pain from the forced movement. "Sorry." 

"No problem." He cleared his throat before saying suggestively. "I prefer this position anyway." 

She continued to gently wipe the mass of dried blood from the side of his face. "Pete and Lana have gone for help." She informed him.

"So in theory, help should be arriving soon." 

She bit her lip in an effort to keep the worry out of her voice. "In theory." She glanced furtively at the inky blackness of the summer night sky. The heavy wet odour of the impending storm was almost tangible now, and Chloe knew that it would begin to rain soon. 

She felt the beginnings of a trickle almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind. She swore silently. The day had just gone from bad to excruciatingly worse.

(c) November 2002


	38. Part Thirty Eight

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

__

A long chapter this time around. Just popped up to say that life is not so gently squeezing every ounce of free time I have at the moment, so if you don't see a new chapter posted in the next week - don't panic. I will most definitely finish the story; it's just that I think new parts may take a bit longer than they used to, at least until Christmas.  
  
And with that horrifying confession out of the way - Hope you enjoy this latest chapter! ;-) 

****

*~*~ Part Thirty-Eight ~*~*

"It's raining." What had begun as a trickle had quickly upsized itself into a genuine storm and now seemed to be auditioning as a torrential downpour during a particularly violent early summer storm. Blinking miserably through the thick deluge, she wiped blond strands that were plastered to her face with cold fingers that could barely remember what it felt like to be warm. 

Chloe watched as Lex raised his pale blue eyes to meet hers, blinking through the rain that now drenched both of them to the bone. "I hate to break this to you Chloe, but it's been raining for a while." 

Despite her worry and the almost incessant tug of anxiety within her, she rolled her eyes in mock derision. "Thanks for the newsflash." She looked out to the rocky outcrop where Lex had fallen. "They should've been here by now." 

"Relax." She felt him reassuringly squeeze her hand. "They'll be here." 

Chloe sighed, hating herself for being unable to contain her worry. "I know. It's just - I feel bad. And not just for the mutant fish hunt thing." Lex grimaced as he attempted to chortle, which Chloe blithely ignored. She swallowed, feeling the timbre of her voice start to shake. "I ... it feels bad that you're hurt. Like if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be out here, you wouldn't be hiking because you've never been hiking and so you wouldn't be out here and now I'm sounding like I've totally lost it but I can't help it because you're hurt and I can't stand to see you hurt." 

Her aching sincerity caught him unaware. She watched in wonder as his confident demeanour slowly dissipated before her eyes, his eyes flaring with sudden emotion in the torrent. "Don't." He whispered pleadingly.

Chloe looked away in confusion. Don't what? Don't feel like this was all her fault? Don't feel bad that he was probably having the suckiest time ever, owing to the fact that he had several broken bones that he wouldn't otherwise have had and probably a cracked rib or two or three, just to round off the funnest day ever in the history of Lex? 

She let his plea drift into the darkness. Chloe felt the rain beating down heavily on her body, but she didn't seem to care. All that mattered was getting Lex to safety, mutant fish and meteor fragments and her guilt be damned. The wait seemed interminable. 

"Still awake?" Lex's musing voice broke her out of her temporary melancholy. 

"I'd hope so, if I were you." She bit back, her peaked anxiety making her tone harsher than she had intended. 

"Good. I'd hate to think I was being deprived of your lively company." 

Chloe expelled an explosive breath. "How can you be so calm about all this? Here you are, possibly on your way to a horrible, watery death and all you can think about is making small talk? I don't understand you Lex." 

"Chloe -" He broke off, his grimace reminding Chloe of his currently injured as hell status. Sudden remorse welled up inside her, and she hurriedly shushed him gently with her finger on his mouth. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't ..." Her voice trailed piteously off, accompanied by the cacophony of rain that currently seemed determined to drown them where they sat. "Does it hurt?" 

There was a slight pause from Lex as if he was weighing her mood. Finally he said almost cheerfully, "Strange as it sounds, yeah it does." 

"I kind of know how it feels." He looked up at her with incredulous eyes and she elaborated. "Chloe history reload? You do remember that I was actually thrown out of your ancestral castle, don't you? So I can say with absolute certainty that I may have _some _experience in the whole having broken bones, hurting like hell thing."

His laughter rang clearly in the darkness before it degenerated into a racking cough. Chloe looked on worriedly, the thought of internal injuries fleetingly crossing her increasingly panicked mind. Lex had always seem so strong, so confident and so determined that she had never contemplated the idea that he could actually be hurt. Not that she thought that he was some freakish humanoid incapable of sustaining normal injury or anything, but she had always thought him so impervious - despite all the times that Clark had rescued Lex from almost certain death. Maybe it had to do with the fact that over the past few months she had come to depend on Lex's presence in her life like she had never depended on anyone else's before, except maybe for her father's. 

It was a confronting and jarring realisation for her normally independent self to stomach, especially in the middle of nowhere stuck in a torrential downpour with Lex lying so blatantly helpless by her side. 

Not that she would ever have betrayed the thought of his helplessness with any outward signs. She had gotten that much from the past hour or two. Just as no one in their mentally competent mind would ever dare fling her maybe Lex dependence into her extremely independent face, she would never dare fling Lex's helplessness in the face of his, well, helplessness. 

She pondered this as she made an internal resolution with herself. Firstly, behave like the cool, calm and collected in a crisis individual like she was not. Secondly, save the self-recriminations for later. And thirdly - help Lex. 

In an effort to take his mind off his injuries, she said lightly. "So your name's Alexander Joseph huh? Weird. It's not very Lex-y." 

She could hear him biting back a laugh, probably for fear of cracking a few more previously uncracked ribs. "Ah, yeah. I'm named after Alexander the Great." 

"That conqueror who had the God complex? That's comforting." Chloe joked half-heartedly.

That brought an irresistible chuckle to Lex's lips. "I've always admired him to a certain degree. He conquered much of the civilised world at the time. He died young, but for the brief time he did live he was considered the most powerful man of his time. Some say he was the greatest General that ever lived."

"Oh." Chloe frowned, trying to dredge up hastily crammed facts from her mind. Whoever said dating was a distraction had obviously never heard of Lex. It was a constant challenge trying to keep up with his facile mind. "And ... you think that's cool?"

He smiled whimsically. "I think so. I've always said I wanted to do great things with my life." 

"Power doesn't always equal greatness." She reflected almost to herself. 

She felt him give a slight start under her. "That's true." He conceded, in a tone that made Chloe wonder whether she had actually imparted an original thought in there somewhere. "It's what you do with the power that matters."

They sat in silence as the rain drummed down. Chloe felt cold and miserable, and to say that she wished herself a million miles from here would have been the understatement of the century. She opened her mouth to bitch as much but was stopped short of actually voicing her discomfort by the thought that Lex was probably having a worse time than her, being injured and hurting like hell and all. 

The wait took on a dream-like quality as Chloe lost all track of time. Time had either slowed to an imponderable crawl or had sped up in spurts and starts, because in retrospect she couldn't for the life of her recall how long she sat there with Lex's head cradled in her arms, waiting for Pete or Lana or the so-called cavalry to arrive and take her out of coldly drenched misery. 

She stared sightlessly at the river rampaging next to them, and then the thought struck her - struck her so hard that if she hadn't already been hunched almost helplessly onto the muddy embankment, she would have promptly collapsed into an oddly hysterical Chloe heap. "Lex." 

He shivered in her arms. "What?" 

She gestured blindly to the water's edge as she swallowed down the rising bile of panic. "Water." 

Lex's eyes widened as he took in the water level, unmistakably encroaching upon his sodden form lying prone underneath her. In fact, cloistered inside her self-recrimination and worry for Lex's state, she had obviously missed the what should have been unmissable eventuality that with rain came water, and with a lot of water came a rampaging river intent on drowning them where they sat. 

Water now lapped at Lex's knees. For a moment Lex looked ready to give in to his panic, which almost goaded Chloe's barely checked terror to break free from her tenuous clutches. 

Almost, but not quite. He swallowed down his panic, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he looked directly into Chloe's eyes, now brimming with frenzied tears. "Chloe, we have to move - now." 

She managed a nod, but not much else. She would need the energy just to haul herself - and Lex - to some place other than here.

Chloe could honestly say that she had never been so scared in her entire life. Sure she had been the target of some meteor freak's crazy rampage before, but it had never shaken her this badly. When Shawn had gone after her in the school's swimming pool, or when she had been thrown out of Lex's study window, she had never had time to think about what was happening. It had all happened at such a frenzied pace, the images and pain blurring so indecipherably in her mind even now that she didn't have the time nor the inclination to actually be scared witless by it.

But now? She was scared completely out of her not so large brain. The gnawing fear probably also had something to do with the fact that, for once, she couldn't rely on anyone else - like Clark or Pete - to get her and Lex out of trouble. Not that she couldn't have escaped from the rampaging waters herself, but that would have involved leaving Lex to drown where he was, a proposition that had the distinct flavour of 'not in this lifetime, not ever' tattooed all over it. 

It also probably had to with the clearly mind-numbing possibility that Chloe Sullivan - bumbling reporter to be extraordinaire - now had the sole responsibility of keeping Lex Luthor alive and relatively healthy, broken limbs and all. 

Chloe wanted to retch so badly she could almost taste the extraordinarily large breakfast that she had ingested that morning and the copious amounts of coffee that she was sure was still resident in her blood stream, not to mention the delicious gourmet lunch that she had eaten just hours before. 

She straightened, resolution and determination colouring her pallid features. She and Lex may drown, or they may be rescued at the last minute - but she simply would _not _run away from any responsibility. Especially responsibility for Lex's life. 

"Okay." She muttered, almost as much to Lex as to herself. "Let's get you up." 

"Chloe." Lex winced as she disentangled herself from him, gently resting his head on the ground before she dragged herself up. Instantly Chloe felt blood rushing back into her legs and she marvelled at the length of time that she must have been sitting there with Lex. Normally nothing could have convinced her to sit still for so long. 

"What?" Suddenly every badly made 'people triumphing over natural disaster' telemovie that Chloe had ever watched insisted on flashing across her mind with the speed of a train wreck. What she wouldn't give now for a fittingly happy, soppy ending. 

She bent down and grasped Lex under the arms, preparing to drag him to safer pastures - or in this case, muddier and less watery pastures. "Something on your mind? I mean, besides the fact that you might die here?" She asked absently.

"I'm glad you stayed." He said simply, looking wretched with pain and an indefinable something else at the same time. It made Chloe pause to realise that this must kill him - being out of control and hurt, and the helplessness that he must have been feeling. Not that he hadn't been in this position before, but it must have been a different proposition to be dependent on Chloe than say, Clark, the resident very much sung hero of Smallville. 

But Chloe loved him. Which naturally meant that she _had _to do this, no strength and scared as hell and all. "It's the least I can do. Now shut up, I need everything I have to do this." She took a deep breath before dragging Lex, inch by pitiful inch, away from the encroaching water. 

Lex's muted grunts of pain grated against her, but she steeled herself against them. Chloe knew that she would most likely break down if she let his obvious pain linger in her ears. That was one thing that she had discovered about herself from this whole experience - she couldn't bear to hear people in pain. Bloody deer carcasses she may be able to withstand with impressive indifference, but actually being in the presence of someone in pain? It made Chloe's head hurt to just think of it. 

Finally after an interminable time, Chloe judged it safe to stop. Actually, it wasn't strictly due to her obviously unskilled judgment per se - it was just that it was physically impossible to drag him any further away from the rapidly rising water level. 

She slowly allowed Lex's upper body to rest onto the muddy ground against the surface of the outcrop, sighing with pent-up relief. The wind lashed at her and the rain still beat relentlessly down on them, but at least Lex was safe from the raging river - for now. 

She had never felt so entirely drained of energy in all her life. 

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, palpable anxiety coursing through her veins at the look of intense pain on Lex's face.

He winced, not even bothering to cover it up. "It ... pretty much hurts. I think this might qualify as a personal record. With the hurting." He gritted out, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. 

"Here." Chloe retrieved the blanket that had been discarded when she had dragged Lex away from the river and quickly wrapped it around him again. "They shouldn't be long. Pete and Lana - I'm sure they'll be here any moment." 

On impulse, Chloe lowered herself to the ground so that she was now lying beside him. "Chloe, I want you to promise -" Lex began solemnly, as she snuggled carefully even closer beside him. 

"Remember the last time we did this?" Chloe interrupted bluntly, knowing full well where Lex had been heading. Lex was a member of the male species and therefore was painfully transparent at times, especially now as his pain seemed to have robbed him of whatever disguise he usually employed with his emotions. 

He stubbornly pressed on, ignoring her efforts to change the subject. "Chloe, you have to leave when it gets too dangerous for you - " 

"I know Lex. I know." She shushed him with the intense imploring look in her eyes. True to form, Lex was being the knight in shining Armani again, looking after her welfare long past the time when he should have been worried about his own health. The thought chewed at her insides, to think - and now _know _- that he cared about her that much. 

There was nothing like the whole 'almost dying' thing to bond two people for life, she thought wryly. 

She settled down as she carefully wrapped an arm over his chest, not entirely enjoying the sensation of mud squelching against her soaked body. She was also trying to keep her anxious wiggling to a minimum, although knowing Lex's more than playful sense of humour, he was probably enjoying the sensation a whole lot more than he should have been. "So I was saying in a blatantly obvious attempt to distract you from this sandbox of non-fun - remember the last time we did this mud wrestling?" 

"As subtle as a sledgehammer Chloe, but I appreciate your motive." Lex said, in a gently mocking tone. "And bonus points for all that wiggling you're doing. But I don't think it was raining or this unpleasant the last time we did this." 

Chloe's eyes shined through her worry as she cracked a brittle smile. "Well d'uh, we also weren't stuck near the rampaging river from hell." 

Chloe sighed, nestling restlessly against Lex as they waited silently in the looming darkness. Chloe battled to not shiver violently against his body as the rain and wind whipped all around them, almost driving all coherent and sane person thoughts from her mind. She was also trying to forget the monumental fact that Lex was hurting and that it was partly - if not entirely - her fault that he would probably have to spend the first glorious months of summer recuperating from his injuries. 

The roaring gurgle of rushing water grew increasingly deafening in Chloe's ears and try as she might, a rising clump of panic insisted on shadowing her like a particularly bad smell. If the metaphorical or physical cavalry didn't arrive soon - well, she didn't know how long she could remain this still and not scream out her frustration and thereby alarm Lex into catatonic pain.

She suppressed the unpleasant thought. Of course nothing unpleasant of the dying variety was going to happen to Lex. Sure he was hurt, but he would recover. She had it on good authority that Luthors were remarkably resilient in the face of broken bones. 

Chloe sighed pitifully, unconsciously checking her wristwatch for the time. Of course, she should have known that in all the confusion and Lex getting hurt and the torrential downpour, her watch would have been broken and thereby adding to her already woeful woes. 

Suddenly she heard rushing voices in the distance. Chloe quickly jerked her head up, naked hope flickering across her face as she tried to discern any man- or woman-made noises against the torrent of rain and water. She would absolutely murder her imagination if the faint voices she could now definitely hear were some crazy hallucination conjured up by her sometimes lame excuse for a brain.

Chloe waited with bated breath.

When she saw Clark's familiar form emerge from the solid curtain of rain and wind, Chloe couldn't decide whether to laugh hysterically or to cry even more hysterically. The pain and anxiety of the last few hours that she had resolutely squashed for fear of making Lex even more uncomfortable than he already was suddenly poured forth from her. It was all Chloe could do to keep from hurling herself into her friend's strong arms; only the need to help Lex to safety and specialised medical attention motivated her to retain her outwardly cool composure. 

"Chloe! Lex!" In an instant Clark was by her side, his grey blue eyes looking anxiously into hers. As she broke out into an overly relieved smile, she was surprised to find tears streaming down her face. 

Chloe figured that it was okay to indulge in a little over-the-top melodramatic water works right now. Clark Kent was here which meant - well, she didn't know what it meant, but her brain was vaguely telling her that since Clark was here everything would be okay, because Clark was a freakishly strong hero type guy who had a tendency to rescue people from life endangering situations and those said people had an encouraging propensity to live. 

While Clark bent down and checked Lex for injuries, Chloe found her eyes darting wildly around, not knowing exactly what it was she should do. 

But before she could sort out and categorise her rapidly tumbling thoughts, she saw Pete rushing quickly to her side, followed closely by Mr Kent, Lana and - Chloe's breath hitched with naked relief - her extremely worried and harried looking father. 

"Chloe." He quickly broke into a sprint ahead of the others, reaching her, Lex and Clark first. Bending quickly to the ground he looked earnestly into her eyes, his arms trembling with profound relief. "Sweetie, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Chloe shook her head numbly, looking at Clark then back at her dad while a cornucopia of barely checked emotions fought to explode from inside her. What could she say to him? Yeah, she was okay, except for the fact that she wasn't cradling Lex's head in her lap as some kinky fun activity thing, but because he was hurt and needed serious medical attention? And incidentally, the entire situation was all her fault. 

So yeah, she was okay. Or more accurately, she wasn't okay _at all_.

Chloe waited patiently while her dad checked her over for injuries, her face surprisingly passive given the overwhelming relief that should have been adorning her face now that the metaphorical cavalry had arrived. She felt drained, like she had run the annual Smallville marathon, except for the fact that Chloe had never run that or any other marathon in her life, so she didn't really know what it felt like. 

All she knew was that if it resulted in her feeling anything like the way she was feeling right now - that is, confused, fatigued and not really minding whether she dropped on the spot and napped for a few million years, pools of muddy water and rampaging river from hell and all - then it would make the happiest crazy girl in the world to never have this experience _ever again_.

Amidst the confused babble of voices from the suddenly overcrowded embankment, Chloe quickly jerked her wandering attention back onto Lex, suddenly aware that he hadn't moved or spoken or done any of those crazy moving things that most people did when they were alive. 

"Lex?" Chloe asked anxiously, wondering whether it was entirely inappropriate to slap him a thousand few times to ensure that he hadn't drifted off into oblivion. His blue eyes looked wan but alert, like he was trying to conserve much needed energy. Or maybe just hanging onto the energy he had left. 

She allowed herself to breathe again when she saw him blink. She almost wanted to slap him for giving her the slight hitch that would have triggered off the panic attack from hell, but held off on account of the whole being hurt thing. 

Chloe also felt slightly put off by his freakishly calm demeanour. She opened her mouth to snark as much to him, hoping to jolt him into some red hot reaction and thereby keep his energy burning, but just at that moment his gaze grew unfocused and she had a feeling he was about to drift off into unconsciousness, which she remembered from TV wasn't exactly a good thing. "Lex?" She asked, the need to know that he was truly okay infusing her being.

"Told you they'd be here." Was all he said, before his eyes closed hazily. 

"Lex? Lex." Chloe was about to go into full panic mode when Mr Kent gently prised her tightly clamped fingers from Lex's arm. 

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him." Strangely comforted, and oddly knowing that she would be canvassing the absolute irony of the statement light years later, she nodded blankly at the older man as she allowed herself to be led away by her anxious father, who had helpfully procured a blanket from either Pete or Lana, and was now wrapping it snugly around her shivering and thoroughly soaked frame. 

Bereft of her responsibility for Lex, she felt lost, dazed and confused. What was she supposed to do now? Where was her bag and the rest of her stuff? How did Clark and the others get here? How were they going to get Lex to hospital?

"Sweetie, it's okay." Chloe found herself looking up into the gentle strength in her father's eyes, those eyes that were at times confused by the incoherent rants of his slightly hyperactively paranoid daughter, but now were now so acutely focused on her safety and well-being. 

Despite the rain and the uncomfortable squelching of the mud and rain as it rained down her form, Chloe launched herself into her dad's protective arms, letting the strain and tension of the last few hours pour forth from her like a breached dam. A single tear coursed down her face, followed quickly by another one and soon Chloe found herself weeping like there was no tomorrow. 

Seeing Clark materialise out of the darkness around her and Lex had been magical. Seeing Pete and Lana and Mr Kent emerging after him had cemented in Chloe's mind that what she was seeing now wasn't some extremely realistic hallucination that her wacky mind had suddenly conjured up. But seeing her dad, standing drenched in the rain and tightly clutching a flashlight in his outstretched hand - that had been stark raving relief for Chloe. 

"You're okay now, everything's going to be okay." He whispered as she buried her face into his arms, not bothering to hide the curiously high-pitched sobs that racked her trembling body. 

Chloe soon heard the muffled roars of a MedEvac helicopter and she guessed that the stretcher that would winch Lex to safety was already being lowered. In another few minutes, Lex would be safe and on his way to Smallville General to the best medical attention that money could buy.

She gently disentangled herself from her dad's protective hold, throwing him a casual yet teary smile. Never let it be said that Chloe didn't appreciate the coolness that was her dad, although she still reserved her birth right of cringing at his truly heinous fertiliser jokes. 

Her eyes automatically zeroed in on Lex's unconscious form as he was attended to, then strapped securely to the stretcher by the two paramedics that had hopped off the helicopter just minutes before. A brace was placed around Lex's neck while his vital signs were checked. 

Soon the helicopter winched Lex up and after a breathless few moments, Chloe saw that he was finally inside the helicopter. Chloe blinked against the harsh glare of the lights as it took off, instinctively using her hand to shield her eyes from the rushing wind generated by the rapidly whizzing blades of the helicopter. 

Chloe blinked at the blank darkness where moments before the helicopter carrying Lex had been. She felt empty, strained past all emotion and caring. But strangely, all she wanted to do was to find her way to Smallville or Metropolis General or wherever they were taking Lex. 

Because one thing was clear in her mind as a fresh wave of determination washed over her - there was no way Lex was going to wake up without her by his side. 

(c) November 2002


	39. Part Thirty Nine

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Thirty-Nine ~*~*

"Stop. _Fussing_." Lex gritted out, his teeth audibly grating as he looked askance at Chloe, his blue eyes glittering dangerously. 

"Well, stop. Whining." Chloe retorted in the same tone, shooting a defiant glare back at him. "And stop using that tone. You sound like a whiney non-lead in a made-for-tv melodrama who didn't get the memo to shut up already and let other people do their jobs." 

Lex spluttered, all anger momentarily choked. "Whining? Chloe, Luthors never whine." 

"Well, there's a first for everything, Luthor genes be damned." She snapped back, smiling infuriatingly at him as she dropped an armful of vintage comics onto his lap. "Those are your comics. And by the way - you're welcome." 

The last month or so had been punctuated by similar types of exchanges as the one she was experiencing with Lex right now. Somehow, the idea of him being seriously hurt had managed to escape his Luthor psyche, causing the delusion that he could continue to do whatever it was that he thought he had to do without regard for his health. 

So Chloe had called him on his errant stupidity, and had shouldered the task of making sure Lex was recuperating with the best care possible - which meant one highly trained nurse paid out of Lex's seemingly bottomless funds and one Chloe, who wasn't highly trained - nor trained at all, except for a brief stint at a First Aid session a few summers ago at her old school - but who was determined to see her responsibility through. 

Not three minutes into actually acting on her decision, she had discovered one thing about Lex that she had previously thought interesting and slightly endearing, but which immediately proved a major irritation to Chloe's already guilty nerves. 

Lex was strikingly, monumentally, stubborn. Privately she knew that certain freakishly nice individuals thought that she had the market cornered on stubborn, but Chloe chose to glance over that non-fact. 

Lex's rigid stubbornness and the mistaken impression that he was super human had been the cause of several explosive arguments between them, all originating in her mind from Lex's stubborn refusal to let Chloe do anything for him. She wasn't into fluffing pillows and delicately toting soothing chamomile teas on trays or anything like that, but if she could do small things to brighten his day - like make him smile - what harm was there in her making him feel more comfortable? So what if he appeared less than sprite with an almost psychotic tendency to rip the cast off his leg and scratch the entire upper layer of his skin off? That was the way normal people behaved when they were injured and surely he wasn't vain and insecure enough to worry about the way he looked to Chloe? 

Because that would have been beyond absurd and ridiculous, even for the melodrama that was Chloe and Lex. 

"Guys." Clark interrupted Chloe's internal rant, planting himself conveniently into her line of fire. "Chill out." He grinned cheekily, holding up his mocha chiller, "I am." 

Chloe rolled her eyes at the lameness that was Clark. She consoled herself with the fact that at least there was no freaky snowball's chance in hell that Lex could ever say anything as lame. 

They were at Lex's mansion for the umpteenth time that summer, lazing about and culpably taking advantage of Lex's generous hospitality. While Chloe was there through her primary motivation of making sure that Lex was all right - and not attracted at all to shielding her non-tanning skin with the superb central air-conditioning system at his mansion - Clark, Lana and Pete had inexplicably decided between themselves to make 2116 Beresford Lane the venue of choice for their after work, after chores hang out. 

Chloe had been thankful, although not in an actually showing it kind of way. Some deeply felt things were better left unsaid. 

Actually, their sudden interest in making Lex's mansion as the congregation point for their little group wasn't all that inexplicable. Clark, Lana and Pete were all freakishly easy going individuals who weren't particularly choosey about where they were seen or not seen - they just liked spending time with their friends. And since two of those said friends were more or less permanently planted at Lex's mansion, the logical choice was that they all descend on the mansion too. 

Of course, it helped that Lex's mansion was equipped with every entertainment facility imaginable. Entertainment systems, a movie screening room, servants to cook food at all hours of the day, a well-equipped gym, not to mention a pool table and an odd artefact or two had all conspired to entertain them so far this summer. 

Any reservations that Pete had had with hanging out at Lex's mansion - and thereby issuing a press release to the world in general that he had officially accepted Lex as a friend - had been overcome by Chloe accidentally mentioning to him that Lex had an entire vault-like room dedicated to his treasure trove of rare collectable comics. 

And now wild rampaging meteor enhanced horses couldn't drag Pete away. 

In short, 2116 Beresford Lane had turned into LexLand - a weird general theme park, except without the fancy rides and scary dancing clowns. 

"So very lame Clark." Chloe bit back, smiling despite herself. Somehow, that goofy smile of Clark's almost never failed to cheer her up, regardless of what she was doing or feeling at the time. 

She plonked herself onto the plush leather couch and sighed heavily. "Sorry for the snarkiness Clark. It's just that a certain bald individual," her hazel eyes looked pointedly at Lex, who raised his brows in mock innocence, "insists on irritating me with his innate stubbornness. And he should get over it because it's been a month already."

"Well, maybe if Florence Nightingale redux would lay off with the excessive fussing, the said bald individual may be less irritable." Lex gritted back. 

Lana suddenly laughed, her eyes twinkling wickedly with barely suppressed humour. "This is hysterical. You guys are fighting like one of those old married couples who love each underneath but can't help snarking the day away because that's all they've been doing for the past 40 years." 

"We don't - you take that back." Chloe spluttered, totally at lost for words. 

Lex likewise stared daggers at the former cheerleader, his bad mood getting worse. "Say that again Lana and I'll turn the Talon into a parking garage." 

"Yes _boss_." Lana said snidely, her eyes still sparkling in glee as she bit into an Oreo. Clark laughed and threw himself onto the floor beside Lana, spooning his large frame behind hers as his arm curled about her waist. She offered an Oreo to Clark who munched silently at it.

Pete scoffed absently. "Yeah right." He dragged his attention momentarily away from the vintage comic that was tightly clutched in his hands. "You guys are like that snarky old couple down at the nursing home with the anger management issues. What were their names again Clark?" 

"The Petersens." Clark added helpfully. "They were a nice couple after you got to know them, and after you, well, dodge a few flying utensils or two."

"You guys should do something else than say, have this conspiracy of non-fun at other people's expense." Chloe butted in savagely, fed up with all the fun they were having at her and Lex's expense. "Don't you have some outdoor adrenalin pumping sporting activity that you have to play? Hopefully away from here?" 

"All right, we'll go." Clark protested, a faintly injured look on his face. "You don't have to be so obvious about it Chloe." He gestured to Pete, who reluctantly put down his comic. "Want to play some ball?" 

"Since when did you play basketball?" Chloe interjected roughly, still annoyed as hell with her two best friends. She admitted that she was also annoyed at herself for reacting so strongly to their playful ribbing, although she would go to her grave before she divulged that bit of non-fact to anyone. 

"I play. I've always played. It's not my fault you have such an aversion to all jock related activities." Clark protested as he helped Lana up. "Come on, we'll leave Chloe and Lex to snark at each other in peace." He added tongue-in-cheek. 

"Guys." Lana rounded behind him and tugged at him playfully. "They've probably had enough for one day. Come on, I'll be your cheerleading section of one." Lana added cheekily, winking devilishly at Chloe as she pushed Clark and Pete out the door. 

Chloe and Lex were left to stare at each other in the suddenly deafening silence in the room. 

"Subtle, Chloe, really subtle." Lex commented as soon as Lana had bundled Clark and Pete out of the study.

Chloe stomped around to stand next to him. "Well they were getting on my nerves. I like Clark and Pete as much as the next - well, normal person, but they can get a little relentless sometimes. Especially just now when they were saying ... you know. As if we could ever resemble a married anything." She floundered. 

"Yeah." Lex nodded in understanding, trying gentlemanly to ignore the blush that crept steadily over Chloe's face. 

Chloe averted her eyes as she gazed over the myriad collectables ranged around the luxuriously appointed study, biting a strand of her hair absently in thought. The last month or so had been trying for both of them, what with their constant bickering and getting on each other's nerves. She knew that they had both been acting out on their frustration, but it had been thoroughly weird and unnerving to have someone else, clueless Clark and Pete of all people - to call them in on it. "Lex." 

Lex made a non-committal sound. 

Chloe leaned against his impressive mahogany desk, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm sorry if I've been ... irritating you. I just wanted to make you feel better and I know I can come on a little strong sometimes -" 

Lex looked up, startled at the warmth and vulnerability of her tone. "Chloe, don't - if anything, _I'm _sorry." He sighed as he looked up at her, his eyes beseeching. "I haven't thanked you for being here. The significance of you spending the first month of your summer here instead of anywhere else hasn't been lost on me. It's just that I haven't been sick for a while and - I must admit that Luthors probably don't make for the best patients. I've been hurt," he smiled dryly, an expression so uniquely Lex-like that it prompted Chloe to grin back at him. "but not sick. Not since the meteor showers. One of the perks of being doused with radiation I think." 

"I wouldn't call it the only perk." Chloe said, her smile widening in mischief. "You know you have the smoothest skin I've ever seen. That's definitely a turn on." 

"Is that right?" Lex grinned impishly, a come-hither look suddenly blazing from his pale blue orbs. 

Chloe smiled insanely back at him, swallowing the sudden urge to jump Lex right then and there and run her hands all over that said smooth skin. It was probably an inappropriate thing to do to a recovering patient with broken limbs. Probably. 

After what seemed like an eternity, he closed the book in his hands. His voice snapped back to a more business-like tone as he endeavoured to smooth down electric silence between them. "So ... I got a call from my father this morning." 

Chloe's face animated with concern. "And? I can tell by your tone that something's up." 

"There's nothing up." Lex frowned, shifting slightly in his wheelchair. "And what tone would that be?"

Chloe gave him a look of reproof. "You're doing that thing you always do when you're uncomfortable." Lex looked blankly at her. "You know that thing with your hands and then you get this look and - never mind." She shook her head as she smiled a little wistfully. "Anyway, your dad called?" She prompted. 

Lex got the hint, throwing his comic down onto the table in frustration. "He wants me to go to Metropolis for a board of directors meeting next week." 

"But - you can't." She gestured at his leg, still encased in its pristine cast. 

Lex shrugged casually. "Well I'm getting the cast off in a few days. It won't stop me from travelling. Since my father is not exactly feeling his best, he thought that I should be the one to represent our family's interests." 

"Okay." Chloe digested the information, lost as to its relevance to her. Because she was Chloe and everything in her universe was all about her. "So you're telling me this - why?" 

"Because I want you to come with me." He elaborated quickly. "To Metropolis." 

Chloe blinked, her heart thumping rapidly in the ensuing silence. To say that Lex's invitation was a surprise would have been the understatement of the century. She was surprised and shocked and astonished, and a million other adjectives that her stunned brain would have been able to muster if not for the whole being really surprised at Lex's invitation thing. 

She gulped as the significance of his invitation dawned on her. He was inviting her to Metropolis - with him. He wanted to go to Metropolis together. Together meant possibly staying the night - at his apartment, which when she thought back to the grand opulence didn't really qualify as an apartment at all. Which wasn't really the point, because the point was that he was possibly and probably inviting her to a weekend-ish sort of trip and why was she freaking out?

She didn't know why she was surprised. She reasoned to herself that this was what normal couples did. Except that she and Lex would never in any universe qualify as normal, given that he was richer than God and she was quite possibly the wackiest creature on this side of infinity. 

They had been spending so much time together the past few months that Chloe no longer was constantly astonished that she was dating Lex Luthor, heir to a veritable corporate fertiliser empire, but this - this was definitely out of the ordinary. In fact, it wasn't just extraordinary - it was incredible and monumental. The mix of suddenly budding anxiety and delicious expectation melded to produce a strangely squishy sensation which permeated her insides. 

Okay, she had to get a grip now. She had of course, forgotten the one fact that would have made all the delicious squishing inside her moot. It would take a miracle of God-like proportions for her dad to agree to her going to Metropolis with Lex. 

"Chloe?" Lex asked with a frown, waving a hand in front of Chloe's dazed eyes. "You still here?"

Chloe mumbled incoherently, shock still vibrating throughout her body. "What?" 

"Do you want to come with me?" Lex eyed her patiently, the only sign that he wasn't as cool as any normal or abnormal cucumber the pursing of his lips and the slight frown that marred his unlined face.

Chloe exhaled slowly and ran her hands through her hair, kneeling to look directly into Lex's pale blue orbs. "Lex, I'd love to come. But," She said with heart-felt emotion, before she continued at his brightening expression. "I'm not sure whether my dad will go for it. You know him. He's slightly deranged with the fertiliser jokes but underneath, he's still a dad of the traditional variety." 

"Of course. It doesn't matter." Lex said a little too casually. "I thought I'd ask. You know, take away the monotonous boredom of having to attend a board of director's meeting." 

"Well - I didn't say no. I -" She paused, weighing her words carefully. Lex's openness in his invitation was definitely throwing a curve ball of emotion her way. "Let me talk to him, okay?" 

Lex nodded mutely in agreement. 

(c) November 2002


	40. Part Forty

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty ~*~*

"Dad -" Chloe stomped after her father obstinately, prepared to repeat the arguments that she had pleaded for the past hour or so. "You said you'd accepted Lex as part of my life. I don't see what the enormous problem is. It's not like I'm running off to Vegas with him - which by the way, I would never do, because how lame would it be to have Elvis at my wedding?" 

"No Chloe. I'm sorry, I can't let you go." Gabe Sullivan ran a tired hand over his eyes, clearly frustrated and wary of his hypersensitive teenage daughter. "And before you repeat what you just said to me half an hour ago, it's not because I don't trust you with Lex. I'm just not comfortable with letting you go to Metropolis with him - overnight." He struggled, clearly willing for Chloe to drop the subject and let him get on with the newspaper clutched in his hands.

But Chloe was one of the most obstinate people on this side of the galaxy and she wasn't out of breath yet, not by a long shot. "But Dad -" 

"Chloe." He finally roared, putting his foot down metaphorically. "I said no. Nothing you say will change my mind so please, can we talk about something else? Besides," He sighed heavily, opening the paper in his hands deliberately. "We still haven't talked about your prom night." 

"What?" Chloe exploded. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? 

"Don't use that language with me young lady." Her dad replied sternly, standing up in growing anger. Chloe could feel her control on her own emotions rapidly slipping as she struggled to maintain her taut expression into one of neutrality. "And it has to do with everything. Lex is -" He paused to take a breath, almost willing himself to calm down from the cacophony of emotions that flittered across his normally genial face. "Lex is a fair minded, principled young man who frankly, is much better to work with than any other person that has ever been sent down to the plant by Lionel Luthor. But," he rebutted at the triumphant look on Chloe's features, "that doesn't mean I entirely approve of him as a ... well, for you." 

"You don't _approve _of him for me? What is this, the age that made the dark ages look like a romp in fairy floss land? I'm 17 Dad, not seven. I'm old enough to choose whoever I want to go out with and in your own words," she threw his words back at him, her hands on her hips, "Lex is fair minded and principled. What do you think will happen if I went to Metropolis with him?" 

"Obviously what happened on prom night." Her dad put down the newspaper, his lips pursed tightly together. "And don't lie to me Chloe, you don't do it very well. I know you didn't get back until morning." 

Chloe spluttered. It was on the tip of her tongue to deny it, but he was right - she sucked at lying. And she didn't particularly want to lie to her dad right now, intense disagreement about Lex notwithstanding. "So? I never lied to you about that. And to reiterate - I'm 17. I'm old enough to know what I'm doing."

"Chloe, I'm not going to police your every move. I let prom night slip because I learned a long time ago that you'll do whatever you want to do and it would just make you more determined to do it if I tried to stop you. I know you're mature and responsible. I just want you to be careful with Lex and not rush headlong into things like you usually do."

"I _am_ careful." She implored, feeling her righteous anger drain slowly out of her like a deflating tire. "I don't think Lex will ever hurt me. I mean, not intentionally. And -" she gulped, awkwardness coming off her in waves at what she was about to say to her _father _of all people, but she rushed on regardless. "And I love him. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Her dad's entire demeanour softened as he gazed tenderly at his daughter. "Of course it does sweetie. All I want is for you to be happy." He frowned as he paused, a slightly guilty cast coming onto his features. "I ... had a talk with Lex about your prom night." He began, eyeing his daughter nervously as Chloe's brows shot sky wards. "We had a discussion about ... what I believe happened."

"A discussion ... about what exactly?" Chloe said evenly.

"Chloe contrary to popular belief I was actually young once and as a young man I ... I know exactly what went on that night." Before Chloe could protest or hyperventilate from embarrassment or most likely both, he hurried on. "And that's to be expected. But the only reason why I didn't say anything was that Lex assured me his feelings for you were both genuine and honourable, and if I had thought for one second that he wasn't being truthful with me, it wouldn't have made a difference whether he was my boss or not. So Chloe, I'm not being unreasonable here. I just don't want you to get hurt." 

Chloe's eyes grew to saucer-like proportions at the images flashing through her mind at _that _particularconversation. 'Gee Lex are you having sex with my daughter?' 'Why yes Gabe I am, is that a problem?' 'Why no, as long as your intentions are both genuine and honourable.'

Because how out-of-this-world awkward would that have been? 

And why hadn't Lex informed her of this tiny but significant detail? She wasn't asking for much was she? Something along the lines of, 'Hey guess what Chloe, your dad and I had this incredibly surreal conversation about you today, and by the way, he asked whether I was having sex with you but now everything's okay because my feelings are genuine and hey, do you want to eat out tonight?' Surely _that _wouldn't have been too much to ask? 

Chloe sighed, looking down at an invisible spot on the carpet. Her dad was being his inexplicable and infuriatingly traditional self, but a small part of her appreciated the lengths that he would obviously go to protect her. Which gave her a growing warm and fuzzy that threatened to displace her anger at him for his medieval attitude to her relationship with Lex. 

"Dad, I know it's only because you care ..." She swallowed down her emotion. "And believe me, I totally get it. I'm your only offspring, and I have a habit of getting myself into trouble, either of the natural disaster or creepy stalker guy variety. But you're just going to have to trust me on this." She inched closer to him as she looked trustingly into his eyes. "To use a tired and entirely way too beat up cliche - you need to let me make my own decisions sometimes. And if it turns out to be a mistake, I'll just have to live with it." 

He sighed, his eyes shining with warmth. "I know. It's just that you're growing up so fast." 

Chloe rolled her eyes as she gave a small laugh. "Said like every true father on the place of the planet I'm sure." She said a derisively, in an effort to cover up her shakiness. 

He brushed an errant blond strand of hair off her face gently. "You look like your mother." He said quietly, making Chloe's breath hitch. "But more beautiful." He sighed wistfully as he smiled a little shakily, wrapping Chloe into a unique bear like hug that only her dad could give her. "Okay, you can go." 

Chloe disentangled herself from her father's arms incredulously. "I can go?" 

"You can go." 

"I can go?" Chloe repeated, just in case she was having a hallucination caused by the slightly icky corn beef sandwich she had at lunch. 

"You can go to Metropolis." Gabe enunciated clearly. "Just be careful - and take some protection."

Chloe's face went from overjoyed happiness to boiled lobster-like embarrassment as her face blanched. "Ah - yeah sure Dad. I'm going to go away now." Turning around, she made a quick getaway to her room before her dad decided to lecture her on the basic uses of a prophylactic. Which would sadly have been a number of years too late and really, there were just some things that a girl should never have to willingly talk to her father about. 

It was only when Chloe closed the door to her room that reality began to sink in. "I'm going to Metropolis with Lex." She said aloud to herself. "I'm going to Metropolis with Lex." She was going to spend the night with Lex - legitimately and with full parental approval. 

An insane smile broke over her face. It was a good day to be Chloe Sullivan today. 

(c) December 2002


	41. Part Forty One

****

Everything In This World 

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty-One ~*~*

"Chloe, can you please stop bouncing around like that? Just eyeing you is exhausting me." 

Chloe drew playfully closer to Lex who was squinting in the brash late morning sunlight. "Who says you have to be eyeing me?" She said, her eyes alight with a speculative glint as she sneaked her way into his arms. "And newsflash - I'm excited to be back in Metropolis again. I don't know about billionaire playboys, but we peasants _do _get unfashionably excited over minor weekend getaways to the bustling Metropolis." Her amusement dropped a notch as she absorbed the tightness around his eyes. "Tough meeting?" She asked, her eyes soft and sympathetic. 

"You could say that." Lex admitted. By the measured tone in his voice, Chloe took this as a flashing red neon sign above his head that the board meeting had taken a lot more out of him than his stubborn Luthor pride would care to admit. Lex was one of the most taciturn personalities that Chloe knew in her admittedly small sphere of influence, but since that sphere also included one Clark Kent - secretive and disappearing maestro extraordinaire - that opinion probably counted for more than she could give credit for.

She was tempted to ask him exactly how the meeting went, but the memory of his casual brush off the last time she had ventured to understand the economic plight of the Smallville plant stalled her. Instead, she let her head fall against his shoulder and smiled bashfully up at him. "We should do something fun. Get the shareholder ickyness out of your hair." Her face fell slightly as she realised what she had just said. "I mean, not your hair because you don't have any but -"

Lex laughed, the tightness around his eyes dissipating. "I know what you mean Chloe." His eyes crinkled as he gave her a playful squeeze. "And I'm all for fun. Just let me get out of these clothes. I think I'll have them burned." He added distastefully. 

"Hey, whatever rocks your world." She rejoined, her hazel eyes twinkling. 

They threaded their way through the crowded Metropolis streets, strolling leisurely to a rhythm only they could feel. Lex had undone his tie and had taken off his exquisitely tailored jacket, which was now strung carelessly over his shoulder as they walked in the mid-summer heat. 

It was a very un-Lex-like action that inexplicably thrilled Chloe to the depths of her soul. A relatively mundane thing as how Lex walked or carried his clothing was somehow transformed into something magical, a unique symbol that they now had attained such an unspoken honesty around each other, as if the connection that they now shared had sometime in the past few months flooded past their mutual defensive barriers to leave them completely and utterly open to each other. 

Chloe smiled to herself, feeling the itchy sensation of insane happiness bubbling up inside her again. 

She also loved being back in Metropolis. She thrilled at the throbbing pace of the city, and at the thousand sights and sounds that took place every minute of every day. She delighted in the excitement that pulsed through her body, the pace of the city stirring within her a reaction that could never be duplicated by anything that Smallville could ever offer. 

As much as she appreciated all the freakish fascinations of Smallville, Chloe was a city girl at heart. She knew that she could never be completely satisfied with the quiet country life that Smallville represented, preferring instead the blinking lights of the city that never went out or the diners that were open 24/7 in the inner sanctums of the city. 

As if to emphasise her point, Chloe found herself inhaling deeply, taking in the heady blend of grease and perfume and a thousand other distinct aromas that encapsulated Metropolis. She lifted her face to the sun and glorified at the warmth that filtered through her closed eyes. 

Lex noted her unusual silence. "You miss this, don't you?"

Chloe made a non-committal sound in reply, before opening her eyes again. "I guess. I mean - of course I do." She lifted her gaze to meet his, her eyes shining with sudden emotion. "I never wanted to move to Smallville. Dad suddenly decided one day to take the plant job and the next thing I knew I found myself settled as a reluctant citizen of the meteor capital of America. No discussion, no anything. Don't get me wrong," she added hastily, "if Dad had never physically hauled me off to Smallville I would never have met Clark and Pete and ... well, you." She gulped, swallowing her flaring emotion down as she endeavoured to add more glibly. "So I guess my youthful exile hasn't been entirely wasted." 

Lex nodded thoughtfully, his voice colouring with surprise. "You consider Smallville an exile too?" 

Chloe did a double take. "Well - yeah. Not that I would ever say that to anyone else. I mean, Dad's happy - he likes the life of a rural peasant. He has his job, his weekend, his friends, his vicarious corn and his equally vicarious hay. He likes it." 

"And you?" He prompted, as they rounded the last block to his apartment building.

"And me ... I can't wait to get out of there." It was true. Chloe had always known it, but it wasn't until this moment with Lex that she had consciously realised it. It was as if stating her intentions aloud had cemented the desire that had previously been floating around inside her, a desire to do and experience things that while exciting and unhelpfully glamorous, could also end up taking her away from everyone she ever considered an essential part of her life. 

"Lex." She bit her lip thoughtfully, unsure of how to phrase the tumultuous questions pummelling through her mind. "Would you ... do you think one day you'll leave Smallville?" 

"Eventually." He said crisply as they finally approached his apartment building. He paused as he greeted Charlie the doorman, who beamed youthfully at Lex as he and Chloe strolled past into the lobby. 

His steely blue eyes trained intensely onto her as he punched the button for the elevator. "I've enjoyed my time in Smallville more than I could have imagined before my father exiled me there. But I've always known that it wasn't my ultimate destiny." 

Chloe found herself unable to drag her gaze away from his intense orbs as the elevator zoomed its way to Lex's apartment, absorbing the quiet strength of his conviction. 

All too soon the doors opened, revealing the spacious apartment, its surfaces bright and sparkling as sunlight filtered through the domed skylight. She took a moment to absorb again the absolute splendour of her surroundings before rounding to face Lex. "So where do you think your destiny is?" She asked quietly, suddenly conscious of her voice in the cavernous stillness of the apartment.

He cocked his head slightly, deep in thought. He was about to answer her when a booming voice cut across the stillness, the quick tap of a cane clearly audible as it reverberated around the room.

"Lex." Chloe whipped around ungracefully, almost tripping over herself in haste - which was no mean feat, considering the fact that there really wasn't all that much of her to trip over in the first place. 

A look of intense discomfort flickered over Lex's pale blue orbs, before his expression closed off into one of distant arrogance. Coolly he greeted the man standing in front of them. "Hi Dad." 

Lionel Luthor stepped out from the shadows languidly as the late morning sunlight cast a lengthy form on the reflective marble floor. His gaze took in Chloe's presence and Chloe had the urge to ungracefully high tail it out of there, but somehow it didn't seem the thing to do. So she stayed put. 

"I was going to ask where you were, but now I hear the answer is perfectly clear." 

An awkward beat ensued as father and son faced off, Chloe shifting uncomfortably on the spot, watching in apprehension at the barely discernible ripple of Lex's jaw. 

"Dad, meet Chloe Sullivan. Chloe - my dad, Lionel Luthor." 

"Miss Sullivan ... Sullivan, as in the plant manager's daughter?"

"One and the same." Chloe replied tersely, trying very hard to restrain the overwhelming annoyance and intimidation of this man "How are you Mr Luthor?" She added politely, vaguely wondering whether it was a seriously bad thing to want to rip his heart out through his throat for all the pain that he'd caused Lex over the years. 

"Your father is quite a competent plant manager from what Lex has told me." 

"Okay Dad, that's enough." Lex interrupted abruptly, stepping between Chloe and Lionel so that she was out of the older Luthor's penetrating vicinity. Lionel raised his brows but chose to remain silent. "Why are you here?" 

"Is it wrong for me to want to see my own son? Speaking metaphorically of course." He dripped with heavily coated sarcasm. 

"Of course." Lex smiled coolly, with no hint of warmth in his voice. "But we both know that's not why you deigned to come all the way up here." 

"Well, of course you're right." He turned around and walked briskly away, clearly expecting Lex to follow. Chloe tried to catch Lex's eyes, but his gaze remained locked on an invisible spot on the floor. Finally he looked up and sighed. 

"This won't take long Chloe." 

Chloe nodded into empty air, frowning as she watched Lex follow his father down the hallway. 

She looked around, quickly taking in the emptiness of the large domed space around her. The sane person thing to do in this situation was to go discreetly upstairs, make herself at home with the various amenities that were available at Lex's luxurious abode and wait until Lex had finished discussing whatever it was that he had to discuss with his dad - which would have absolutely nothing to do with her. 

But then, that course of sane person action didn't take into account the tiny fact that Chloe was as far as a person could get from being sane. Add to that spectacularly obvious fact was that she was a budding reporter - and what kind of a reporter would she be if she didn't at least exhibit some form of inappropriate curiosity? 

Chloe frowned thoughtfully, her brain supplying her with ample reasons to not eavesdrop in on Lex's private conversation with his dad, before discarding them all quickly. Who was she kidding - when it came to things that might interest her, she was less than ethical about a little constructive snooping. After all, she was Chloe Sullivan - not high morals boy Clark Kent.

She tiptoed lightly down the hallway, wincing as her footsteps scuffed the marble floor. Who the hell knew that marble floors produced such distinct and annoying sounds? 

Chloe stopped abruptly at a double paneled closed door. Glancing furtively around to ensure that no enthusiastic servants or Lionel lackeys were about, she pressed her ear softly against the door and listened. 

"Why are you here Dad?" Chloe heard Lex's deceptively calm voice filter through the door to her, although she would be willing to bet her non-existent fortune that he was tautly holding his emotions. 

His father ignored him, and Chloe heard the faint clinking of crystal goblet and glass momentarily as he poured himself a drink from the crystal decanter. "How did the meeting go?" 

"It went fine. We reviewed LuthorCorp's worldwide net revenue, checked our growth in various markets, reviewed our projected targets for release at the press conference next week ... But really Dad, why are you here?" 

There was a terse silence before Lionel deigned to answer his son. "A high school girl Lex? Isn't she a little young and rustic for you?" 

Chloe gasped in indignant anger before covering her mouth. How dare that wrinkly old pathetic excuse for a living creature judge her and Lex like that? 

If ever there was a time that Chloe wanted to smack a visually challenged person, it was now - horrible and politically incorrect sentiment as it was. Hell hath no fury like a Chloe insulted. 

"So this is about Chloe?" Lex hissed incredulously, the anger exploding from him before he had the presence of mind to reign in his emotions. "Isn't that just a little bit below you Dad?" He paused before continuing, sounding coolly calm once more. "Even for you?"

"Everything that goes on in this family is my business Lex." Lionel replied gruffly. 

"I see." There was heavy clank as Lex put his glass down onto the table. "Well now that you've met her, I think you can go." 

"I'm just looking after _both _our interests son. It seems that your time in Smallville has taken the edge off you Lex. I'm surprised that even after all this time, you refuse to spot the vipers in this world who will take advantage of the Luthor name. We must protect ourselves from people who seek to exploit our wealth for their own ends. _We_ must do the exploiting for our own ends." He drew in a breath. "Don't let yourself be used, least of all by an ignorant farm girl. Use your head Lex." 

"Have you quite finished?" Even through the door and the hazy film of red hot anger coursing through her veins, Chloe could detect the outright venom that laced Lex's words. If Lex was feeling anything like what she was feeling right now - let's just say that a stint for cold blooded murder at Metropolis Penitentiary might not be entirely out of the question. 

Chloe was biting her tongue in an insanely determined effort to restrain herself from bursting into the room and ripping Lionel Luthor's lungs out to use it as a particularly horrible Christmas ornament. Things had gone entirely too far. 

She could have dealt with the inevitable snobbery, the razor edged remarks or even snide comments alluding to her less than impressive physical stature or non-beauty. But what she hadn't been prepared for - and which naturally must eventuate given the stubborn laws of the weird and wonderful universe of Chloe - was Lionel Luthor's not-so-subtle allusion to her motivation for being with Lex. 

As if Lex loving her the way he so clearly loved her - despite her propensity for overreacting and a dubious sense of a good news story - wasn't motivation enough. Throw in his aesthetically pleasing physique, the way he gazed at her with those pale, glittering blue eyes in the twilight, and Chloe was sold. 

So clearly Lionel Luthor was certifiably insane - and a really awful person in the bargain too. 

"I'm just warning you Lex." He said smoothly. 

"Consider me warned. Now get out." Far from becoming flustered by his son's venomous tone, she heard Lionel give a small laugh. Heavy footsteps on the padded floor jolted Chloe into quickly retreating back up the hallway where she came from. 

Swallowing down bile and a surprising number of creatively worded insults, she sat herself midway up the winding staircase, sitting on her hands for good measure. Chloe honestly didn't trust herself to not hurl a particularly blunt object at Lionel Luthor - physically incapacitated and all - which would have been so _not _good for the marble floor. And of course, Lionel Luthor's head if she actually cared. 

She didn't have to worry. Lionel strolled unconcernedly past her on his way out the door unaided, sure of his path. If he detected the razor sharp ray of anger directed at him which radiated from Chloe as she sat on the stairs, he didn't give the slightest acknowledgment - which Chloe thanked the gods of several major religions for. She didn't know whether she could have held off on beating the crap out of the guy, visually challenged and one of the richest men in America and all. 

She heard Lex's soft footsteps on the cold marble floor. Chloe stood up abruptly, her expression no doubt betraying her hurt and anger at what she had overheard. Strangely, as much as it hurt and bewildered her to think of Lionel Luthor having such an indescribably horrible attitude towards her, a person whom never under any other circumstance could be considered more than a very insignificant insect, she was more outraged at the fact that his arrogance and horribleness towards Chloe had probably ended up wounding Lex more than if Lionel had come straight out to attack him personally. 

Because that was just so like Lex - to shield himself behind impenetrable armour of steely resolve and cool indifference, yet leave himself open to be wounded when people he cared for were attacked. That was the so-called weakness that Lionel saw in his son, and in which Chloe realised in a flash of understanding, what he so ruthlessly exploited. 

Lex glanced up quickly, his hand wringing his neck in a gesture of nervous tension, surprised to find Chloe on the stairs and processing her presence. "I take it you heard. Why am I not surprised?" 

Chloe nodded silently as she scrutinised his drawn expression. "Because I'm too curious for my own good. Are you okay?" She asked abruptly.

He smiled bitterly, sinking down onto the cold marble step beside her. "You're asking me?" he asked incredulously, biting back more cold laughter. "We _did _hear the same conversation right?"

"The one where your dad was deriding me as the rural peasant girl leeching and plundering the Luthor family crest all in the name of my newly crowned vixen viperishness? Yeah." Chloe smiled too brightly in an effort to lighten the mood, but Lex just nodded his head sadly. 

It suddenly struck Chloe how odd Lex looked right now - sagging into himself as his hands crossed over his folded knees in a moment of open-hearted weariness. It was odd to see such tangible evidence of Lex the man - not Lex the cool, calm and collected Luthor, not Lex the savvy businessman, not Lex the elegant charmer - just Lex the man. The person he was when all his myriad defences were stripped away from him, leaving the bare core of his soul. 

And Lex the actual person evidently cared a little too much about Chloe, to allow himself to display such susceptibility to attacks on her. 

Chloe was the quintessential 21st century girl, which meant that slurs and slanders on her generally pristine name were going to roll off her like water off a particularly greasy duck's back - so she knew that as soon as she got over her psychotic impulse to put the smack down on Lionel Luthor, she would be okay. 

But Lex? Chloe frowned as she contemplated his profile, juxtaposed against the harsh brightness of the pale cream wall behind him. She actually worried about him - laughable idea as it was, given the fact that he was widely regarded as the most capable person on the planet. 

But it was at moments like these, moments where Lex displayed a semblance of vulnerability - and what Lionel Luthor would call weakness - that made him that much more appealing to Chloe. 

It was a lot to digest in a crystal instant of pure understanding. 

"I'm sorry Chloe, I -" 

"Hey." She let her hand cover his, snuggling wantonly to his side so that his warmth now permeated her skin. "You don't have to apologise for your dad any more than I have to apologise for my dad's lame fertiliser jokes and bean fetishes." She sighed as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. " We'll just ... not let him spoil our day." 

"Our day?" He repeated hazily, still caught in what Chloe was now secretly referring to as his extremely well-dressed stunned deer in headlights look. 

"You promised we'd have some fun. I think it's time you delivered. I'm not letting a Luthor rescind on his promise, crappy start to the day and all. You can always take me shopping." 

She felt Lex swallow down a groan but smiled as his eyes lightened. "Okay." He paused, his eyes searching hers almost eagerly as he whispered. "Are you all right?" 

Chloe leaned in and gave him a small kiss. "Never better." She replied quietly as she drew contentedly against him, revelling in his closeness as he allowed himself to lean against her. 

(c) December 2002


	42. Part Forty Two

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty-Two ~*~*

"Ready to go?" 

Chloe jerked awake, her head slipping ungracefully from its perch on her hand. Not that she would ever admit to Lex that she had been sadly lacking in energy since mid-morning and needed some artificial sustenance in the form of caffeine. Because that would have been a predictable weakness and Chloe had finally decided that she hated being predictable. 

"What?" She frowned as she wiped away imaginary rivulets of drool which she fervently hoped was _not _in evidence before Lex because - how much of a turn off would that be, having your girlfriend drool over a couch that probably cost more than her house? 

She rubbed her hazy vision, blinking in sudden confusion.

Lex chuckled appreciatively as he gazed at her form, reclined on the Bauhaus-styled leather couch. "Rise and shine. Or seeing as it's almost dinner - I think just rise would be in order." 

"What time is it?" Startled, Chloe suddenly bounced off the couch and yanked the drapes back, not even having the presence of mind to marvel at the multicoloured horizon from her unique viewpoint in her astonishment. "It's almost dark." She pouted. 

"I'm told that does tend to happen most days." He said as he came up behind her. 

Chloe pretended to not notice his closeness as he pressed up gently against her back. "You let me sleep the afternoon away? You promised to wake me after twenty minutes! What kind of an upstanding boyfriend are you?" At his delighted chuckle, she huffed. "I could have been exploring the Metropolis Museum of Art or going on a campus tour of Metropolis U. Or going experimental shopping downtown, not to mention - mildly disturbing as it sounds - hopping on a bus and going to the State Library."

Lex smiled as he placed his hands in his pockets. "I didn't wake you because you looked so sweet just lying there. You're not the museum type, you can go on a campus tour with your father any time, what's experimental shopping, and - why would you go to the library during summer?" 

"I've decided I need to broaden my horizons." She snarked as she wheeled back into the shadows. "What do you think? It appeals to my warped sense of interest. Besides the fact that I'm Metropolis born and bred - picturesque postcards with dancing bears and American flags just don't do it for me." 

"They don't do it for you?" Lex draped his lean frame around her as he possessively wrapped lean arms around her waist. He lifted a single brow suggestively. "And what exactly does it for you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Chloe giggled, dancing out of his arms. She could hardly believe that she was actually capable of talking this way to Lex. Not that she would rank it up there with walking on water or having miracle babies, but a few months ago she would never have dared to say anything as daringly provocative as she had just said. Not that it was all that particularly daring or provocative for anyone other than Chloe, with her dismal almost non-existent dating record. "What are we going to do tonight?" 

"We stay in and I get to work out what really does it for you?" 

Chloe valiantly tried to keep the blush that crept onto her face, but it advanced steadily until it stubbornly covered every inch of exposed skin. Had she just been marvelling at her extreme cool in a face of a rampaging Lex just an instant ago? She was a fraud and clearly guilty of counting her eggs before they had hatched, which probably earned herself an 'F' in scintillatingly sexy dialogue 101. 

She cleared her throat, irritated at his smug confidence yet helpless as she melted in a puddle of jello from his hungry gaze. "No, I mean - presumably, we're off to dinner because frankly I can eat an entire cow right now - but afterward?" 

Lex cocked his head nonchalantly. "And this would be my responsibility ... why?" 

"Because it's all your fault that I've slept the afternoon away and so you should make it up to me by taking me out to some extremely fun and happening place." Chloe said cheekily. 

"A fun and happening place?" 

"Yes, you know those places where people of our generation regularly congregate and have fun and generally behave in a happening and free way. Bonus Chloe coupons for taking me somewhere I don't usually go." She added hopefully, half-seriously batting her eyelashes at him, a technique she had learned from Lana, the batting eyelash queen herself. "What about the places you used to frequent in your halcyon days of rebellious youth?"

"Trust me Chloe, you wouldn't want to go to those kind of places." 

"Those kind of places?" She mimicked, grinning like a particularly demented Cheshire cat. "I hate to break this to you Lex, but I'm not exactly Snow White in that department. I've sneaked into my fair share of clubs in my irresponsible youth. Of course, I wasn't very good at it - but contrary to my pristine Smallville image I have been known to engage in such activities before my father pulled his wayward daughter to the leafy little hamlet we both know and love."

"Pristine?" Lex carefully hid his smile as he scrutinised her animated features. "So in non-Chloe, what you just said roughly translates into 'you want to go and have fun'." 

"Yes." Chloe exploded. "Call it ... responsible clubbing." She danced across and wrapped him in a bear hug, something she hadn't done to anyone since that time she hugged her dad before her fourth birthday party and discovered that she was much too sensible to do anything as ridiculously silly as that. 

Chloe gazed up at him from beneath her lashes. "Come on Lex, show me the fun." She dropped her gaze as she fingered the buttons on his shirt. "Look you've even got me referencing Tom Cruise and you know how much I hate doting on the ego of _that _particular American screen idol." 

"Responsible clubbing. Isn't that an oxymoron of hugely ironic proportions?" 

"Yes. But well worth the irony. So - where are we going?" She asked expectantly. 

It took a few seconds for Lex to answer her. "Well, there was this place - are you sure about this?" He asked hesitantly. 

"Okay, this is creepy. You're actually exhibiting freakish resemblance to my dad which is seriously disturbing my mental equilibrium. Lex, will you _lighten up _already? And also - stop channelling my dad."

"I ... you're right." Lex sighed in defeat. 

"Of course I am." Chloe brightened again, devilishly enjoying the look of utter discomfort that spread across his features. "Now I'm going to change into something less comfortable and hopefully way more flattering, and I suggest you do the same. You know, in the interests of the feminist movement, equality for all thing." 

"Okay." Lex frowned quizzically as if wondering how Chloe effectively manipulated him into taking her out to dinner and other entertaining stuff. Not that she really had to manipulate or persuade - it was just a revelation that she _could_ twist Lex around her finger. It was a new and not entirely uncomfortable thought. "I'll just go change." 

"You do that." Chloe grinned almost maniacally as she watched his figure ascend the stairs and disappear into his bachelor suite. Call her optimistic and counting her eggs way before they were even eggs and able to be hatched, but Chloe felt sure that she was going to have a spectacularly okay night tonight. 

And that was more than okay by her. 

***

"Chloe, are you ready?" 

Chloe threw the National Geographic down onto the glass coffee table in front of her and crossed her arms petulantly. "Am I ready?" She quipped. "I've only been ready for the last fifteen minutes. You know, I'm beginning to see a whole new side of you Lex - the dawdling and generally behaving like a woman side of you and whoa -" 

Chloe halted mid sentence, unable to continue due to the small fact that her mouth had ludicrously refused to stop working. She was losing all control of her essential motor functions and for once in her life she thought that looking liked a stunned fish in the face of a drought was justified. Because anyone with even a minuscule portion of a half-functional brain would have understood what exactly had rendered her entire body inoperative in one gorgeously delicious swoop. 

Two words - Lex Luthor. Or more accurately - as Chloe's dazed mind attempted to wrap around the image she saw in front of her now - Lex Luthor in black leather. Lots and lots of black leather. 

She had seen Lex clothed - and unclothed - in a variety of situations. She had seen fertiliser plant wear Lex, she had seen suave and sophisticated Lex, she had seen sweaty and athletic Lex and had even been privileged to see hunting for mutant fish Lex. 

But all those Lex's couldn't hold a very small candle to the Lex standing before her now - in terms of being sexy-as-all seven circles of hell.

Lex stood, gazing mischievously up at her with his deceptively come-hither pale blue eyes as Chloe swallowed down unreasonably blind panic. 

He had on a pair of leather pants that hugged the curves of his form without being obnoxiously tight. He had teamed that singularly spectacular fashion item with a comfortable multicoloured pinstriped shirt, which bizarrely - _almost _drew Chloe's attention away from the leather. 

Almost, but not quite. Because to Chloe it was all about the leather, especially when it happened to be plastered onto Lex. 

Chloe reflected that it would probably take more than two words to explain away her masquerading as a mental patient look. 

"Lex?" She squeaked, not even having the capacity to control the girlish tint to her voice. "You look ... nice." She frowned lamely.

Lex smiled impishly, looking down on what Chloe was calling his ungodly sexy form - not that he really would have referred to himself that way. "You mean this?" He swirled around on the spot, holding his arms up in order to give her a better view, prompting Chloe to almost faint and simultaneously attempt to thank the gods of several major religions at her extreme good luck. "It isn't really me any more, but this is the kind of stuff I used to wear when I was in Metropolis doing the clubbing circuit. I admit it may be a little ... much." 

Chloe cleared her throat as inconspicuously as possible, hoping Lex would conveniently skip the whole noticing how hot and sweaty she was getting thing. "Well - I wouldn't say that." She frantically swallowed air, hoping that it would somehow find its way through her body and cool it down just a little. "I mean you've got your leather and," her eyes trailed down the length of his form, becoming fixated onto a tiny spot just below his belt - 

"Chloe?" She jerked her attention back to Lex's face, surreptitiously checking for drool with her hand. "You were saying?" 

"I was saying ..." She expelled a harassed breath, causing tendrils of blond hair to fly upwards. "I was saying how you have the leather, and I'm feeling decidedly underdressed. I mean, not under-dressed in terms of having clothes - because obviously I'm wearing clothes. But," Chloe looked down at her form ruefully, thinking that her azure blue top and short black skirt weren't really going to cut it besides the sexy as all out Lex standing in front of her. "Maybe I should change? Because you have the leather and I have nylon - or some weird cotton polyester blend type thing - which isn't really the point I guess, the point being ... it's not too much. The leather I mean. Do you think I should change? Exhibit more of the sexy?" She ran a hand down her clothes uncertainly. 

"Good. And _please_, don't change." Lex unleashed a devilish smile that telegraphed to Chloe his satisfaction at having thrown her for a loop or curve ball or whatever type of sporty ball there was to throw because Lex had most definitely thrown one at her. Good God, was she really going out with this man? "You want to head out now?"

Chloe blinked, her senses recovering basic functionality enough to allow her a modicum of control over her most important weapon - her mouth. "If that's okay with you." 

Lex grinned as he took her hand in his, his eyes glinting with barely concealed anticipation. 

(c) December 2002


	43. Part Forty Three

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

__

Author's Note: Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! 

I know I probably don't say this enough, but I really appreciate the immense amount of feedback and reviews I've gotten for this story so far. Every review is tremendously encouraging and I honestly appreciate the effort that people go to let me know they're enjoying the story. Thanks ;-D 

****

*~*~ Part Forty-Three ~*~*

The heady beat of the music pumped loudly as it resounded all around her, threatening to shatter her ear drums in the process. The music, loud and obnoxiously grating as it was, had somehow acquired the power to almost compel her body to gyrate to the beat as she stood against the wall, patiently waiting for Lex to return from the bar. 

Chloe had been to a few clubs in her life - fake ids were after all not the most heavily guarded contraband that a teenager could come across - but she had never felt so pumped and alive. The darkness, the sensuous swaying of closely sweating bodies, the intense unsuppressed atmosphere of desperation and excitement, coursed through her veins and begged for an outlet. Chloe felt like a particularly jumpy live wire, glowing and burning energy as it twitched for release. 

Lex had taken her to Tangent, a club that wasn't quite as debauched as Chloe was half-hoping for, but still obnoxiously exclusive enough that Chloe knew if she hadn't been one of the lucky ones gaining admittance she would have snarked about the injustice of life for the rest of the night. 

But she had been one of the chosen few, and not even the most insane part of her mind could glance over the tiny fact that it was all due to the fact that she had been hanging off Lex Luthor's arm. Or more accurately, in the interests of accurate reporting Lex Luthor had been draped all over her as they had sauntered past the velvet ropes curtaining off access to the already packed club. 

There were injustices and there were injustices. But Chloe reflected philosophically that she could probably deal with this particular one quite well.

Chloe rocked impatiently, the thought flying briefly across her mind to just ditch Lex and get onto the dance floor. Which clearly would have been crazy, but where the hell was her knight when she needed him with a cool refreshing drink and a hot, sweaty body to dance with? 

The noise was so great and created such a pounding vortex of noise inside her head that Chloe knew that when she woke up the next afternoon, bleary eyed and fatigued, she would have lost all sense of sound. 

She was definitely having a colourful kaleidoscope of fun. 

"You look ready to bolt." How Lex had managed to skirt her skittish attention and whisper tantalisingly into her ear in the midst of the pounding beat of the music astonished Chloe. 

"I am." She turned around and manoeuvred herself so that she could snake her hands around his waist. His arm wrapped around her, cradling a Long Island iced tea in his hand which he offered to her. "I just need to let go of all this energy." 

"One drink Chloe." He cautioned as she took the glass into her hands, prompting her to throw him a dirty look. 

She gulped the deliciously cool liquid down, knowing that it probably wasn't the most practical way to get around Lex's sudden impersonation of her father. "Way to sully the mood Lex, masquerading as my dad and all." Her eyes glinted with defiance. 

"I just want to make sure you don't get into trouble." 

She deliberately ignored his somewhat superior tone, biting down the cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. She tried to ignore the flame of anger that seared through her by urgently grabbing his hand. "Come on." She gestured into the general direction of the crowded dance floor. "We should dance." 

She saw Lex frown at her suddenly maniacal energy, but she tugged insistently and soon she was gyrating to the beat like a semi-crazed animal, wanting to dance and twirl and spin all the excessive energy out of her body that seemed to fuel her rampaging emotions. It seemed that all the intensity of emotions of the past month - her worry over Lex's injury, the constant tension during his recovery and the verbal assault from Lex's dad that she had willingly allowed herself to overhear today - had suddenly coalesced and converged on this one instant. 

Chloe couldn't bear it any more, she had to let it go - she needed to let it all go. 

And so she dance it out. And for a while it worked, as Lex took in her gyrating form and frenzied energy for an instant before he approached and began dancing to her rhythm. 

They danced as one, heedless of stares or whispers or music or anything else that revolved around them. It was just her and Lex, dancing in a whirl of curtaining emotion. And if she hadn't been aching for that release, she was sure that she would have had the presence of mind to be astonished at the change in Lex - just as she had unleashed her energy and emotions, heedless of the curious stares around them - so had he. And the result was electrifying, in a non-Grease kind of way. 

Chloe was sure that she probably wasn't the most stylish or the most gorgeously sinuous dancer on the face of the planet, but she really didn't care. As long as Lex was there and they were sharing this rare moment of unrestrained emotion, she was fine and dandy. 

But of course it couldn't last. There was some proverb that lyrically said as much, but Chloe couldn't quite pluck it from the whirling jumble of thoughts from her mind. 

Her mind was jerked from its almost psychedelic daze by a hand being placed forcefully on her behind, snaking aggressively up. Chloe's eyes widened as she rounded on the culprit, giving him a slap that stung her palms senseless. 

"Hey." The man protested, clearly less than pleased at her reaction. "Bitch." 

Lex quickly stepped around Chloe to confront the man, his eyes fixed and steely in the darkened room. "I think it'd be better if you left this woman alone." 

The man swallowed heavily, glancing between Lex and Chloe before he shrugged. "Hey man, no hard feelings." Taking one last glance at the steely look in Lex's eyes, he scampered off into the crowd. 

"What did you do that for?" Chloe screamed at him, thankful for the music that blared around them. 

"What did I do that for?" Lex whirled incredulously, his eyes starting to shoot sparks of anger. "I was making sure you don't get hurt." 

"In case you've forgotten, I'm reminding you of the tiny of significant fact that _I am not a kid_." She emphasised each word, her voice crescendoing towards hysteria. "I haven't been a kid for a very long time. And also, I can take care of myself." 

"I hate to break this to you Chloe, but you can't. Smart words and an attitude can only do so much. You can't always take care of yourself, which is where I come in. You're 17, you don't know everything. There are things out there -"

"I'm not hanging around to hear this." She barged past him and rushed for the exit, suddenly knowing that if she didn't get out of the cauldron of hazy smoke and heat, she would probably end up saying something horrible and nasty to him, which would have been so very, very bad. 

Once Chloe was outside she glanced behind her, knowing with her Lex sense that he wasn't going to let her get away so easily. As Lex charged past the bouncers and fixed onto her position, she began to quickly walk away in the opposite direction. 

Unfortunately for Chloe, and as much as she wanted to walk quickly away from Lex and disappear mysteriously into the hazy, foggy night, the universe remained obstinately against her. The night was crisp and clear and Lex apparently overtook her without breaking into a sweat, newly recovered from his broken leg and all. Not to mention the fact that Chloe was hardly the type to outrun an angry Lex. 

"Don't walk away from me." Lex forced her to a stop, gripping her arm and refusing to let go. "We were having a conversation." 

Chloe rounded on him, her murky hazel eyes blazing with wrath. "I'm sorry, we were having a _conversation_? You mean you weren't giving innocent little Chloe a lecture on the dangers of the big, bad world? I'm sorry, I must have missed that showing - you know, the one where you're actually a rational human being." 

"Why is it such a problem for me to want to protect you Chloe?" They were both shouting now, Chloe a lot more than Lex, which would have been a gigantically embarrassing problem if not for the lucky fact that the street was utterly deserted. A police car rolled by but paid them no heed. "Why does it have to be such a big deal with you?"

Chloe looked down onto the pavement, unable to look into his simmering yet earnest eyes. She felt a part of her animosity draining away, but as it did so it left a curiously numb sensation in its wake. It was like being churned relentlessly in a rip of a wave and then being spat out, breathless and fatigued and never wanting to go back.

She opened her mouth to apologise, but clamped it resolutely shut. "You know what, just drop it. We should head back ... I'm tired." She began to walk away from him, still careful to avoid looking into his no doubt injured as hell eyes. 

"Chloe -" Lex began resignedly, sounding as suddenly as tired as she felt.

"What?" She bit back, feeling another surge of anger thread through her body. 

"My car's this way." He gestured in the opposite direction, his voice coolly cutting in the suddenly still night air. "Or were you planning to walk through the secure streets of Metropolis by yourself to show your independence?" He added sarcastically. 

Chloe's pride recoiled from his tone and for a split second she really considered walking to the nearest Greyhound station to buy herself a ticket back to Smallville, and then hiding out in her room for the rest of her life. Lex had suddenly gone from concerned and injured high moral ground Lex into sharp, cool and absolutely in control Lex, and for some reason Chloe found that the change really hurt. 

But she just didn't have the energy to dissect the flux of feelings inside her at the moment. She was drained and tired and all she wanted was to sleep and forget the night ever happened. Which naturally would entail accepting Lex's ride back to his apartment. 

She watched injured as Lex rounded and began walking towards his car without a backward glance, his posture stiff and erect. 

Chloe silently followed, her eyes shining with unshed tears as their steps echoing in the still night air. 

(c) January 2003


	44. Part Forty Four

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty-Four ~*~*

Chloe rushed past Lex into the apartment, yanking her jacket off her in anger and as she headed down a random hallway in Lex's English maze-like apartment. She couldn't really care less which opulently appointed million acre corner of the building she ended up in - she just needed to get as far away from Lex has humanly possible right now. 

"Chloe, what's wrong?" He asked, slamming the door behind him. 

Chloe ignored him. She knew she was - possibly, maybe and probably - being unreasonable. She didn't even know why she was throwing such an unprecedented hissy fit for no sane person reason at all. She didn't know why Lex wanting to look after her and protect her from over-consumption of alcohol and sleazy men made her want to simultaneously cry and beat the crap out of something - she just knew that it made her crazy, and angry and all the bad adjectives that her tired brain couldn't dredge up at the moment. 

She rounded a corner and hastily shoved a pair of heavy wooden doors open, closing them behind her. Chloe leaned against the doors, taking in the layout of the dark room and confused at the jumble of thoughts that skittered and bounced across her mind like crazed bunnies on crack. 

It was what evidently pass for a study at Lex's palatial apartment. To Chloe the room didn't remind her as much of a study than a State Library, with shades of medieval armoury thrown in for good measure. The walls were lined with leather bound books that looked like they had been dredged up from some archaeological dig in medieval England, and there were rows and rows of artefacts and weapons of all shapes and sizes - or extremely good, able to actually kill people imitations - that showcased the Luthor fortune and unapologetic aggression towards all facets of life. 

The entire night didn't make sense. Chloe was smart, independent and ready for anything. Anything apparently, except for her own innate irrationality and unpredictable emotions. 

Maybe that was the problem, she reasoned. Chloe would be the first to acknowledge that the fact that she could run the full spectrum of emotions in a short space of time made her a human being of the sometimes strange and wacky variety. Which was mostly an endearing quality about her, even if she had to say so herself. 

But what was the flip side to that whole running the gauntlet of the emotional spectrum thing? As much as she could soar to the highest pinnacles of excitement, she could plummet just as quickly into the depths of depression. For every time her eyes lit up with warmth and friendship, there was also a time when she felt ready to commit murder before an entire stadium crowd of witnesses. 

So she was an emotional person. Chloe shrugged her shoulders mentally as she burst past another set of double doors, which apparently led to a more private inner study, slamming them behind her. 

She was an emotional person who apparently had no control of her emotions whatsoever. Big deal. 

But maybe that _was _the deal, she realised. She was an emotional person to begin with but now, with Lex added into the equation, she was even more of a live wire than before. So much so that even a slight ripple in her Lex pond was almost enough to send her into a spiral of unmitigated emotion. Like a house of cards but of the particularly shoddy variety. 

Chloe ran a frenzied hand through her straying blond hair. It was Lex. She had unwittingly thrown her entire self - heart and insides and all - into her feelings for him, and now it had come around and bit her in the ass big time. Because everything that Lex did now resonated with her at a much more frenzied level, making small irritations morph into problems that dwarfed Mount Everest.

It shook her, more than anything had her shook her in her entire life. She had never known what it was like to feel so much for one person - but now she knew, because that was the way she felt about Lex. 

Before she had time to ponder the significance of her epiphany, the doors banged open loudly and Lex suddenly came charging into the room, his eyes afire with dangerous ferocity. 

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" He demanded, staring daggers at her. Chloe found herself flinching from his heated gaze but refused to back away. 

"I -" She began, floundering when she couldn't seem to construct what she wanted to say. What could she say? How could she enunciate something that she had only just came to the realisation of a few seconds before? "I can't - I don't know." She said, throwing her arms up helplessly.

"You don't know?" Lex seethed, stepping almost menacingly towards her. "You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?" 

"I - both." Chloe winced at the way it came out. At the hurt that flickered over Lex's face, she forced herself to elaborate. "I ... I guess that - I'm just overwhelmed. I'm getting too sensitive about things and I think I need to just - stay away for a while." 

Lex's anger crumbled from his face, leaving a strangely muted expression. Chloe almost found herself flinching from his gaze, open and weary once more. "You're feeling suffocated?" His voice broke with emotion. "Am I coming on too strong?" 

Chloe looked back at him desperately, not wanting to open her mouth and say the inevitable. What could she possibly say that would not render her a huge, giant liar, yet retain a shred of good feeling between her and Lex? 

She took a deep breath, vaguely aware in her confusion over her own feelings of the flimsy line she was about to walk. "I love that you want to protect me. To be honest, I don't think I've ever felt this safe with anyone else before - maybe not even 'I'm a big fat hero' Clark. And it's not you, it's -" She broke off. "I think it's just everything - my head's getting turned around at how much I feel about you and us and I just have no idea how to control it." She turned from him in frustration. "I get mad and I'm annoyed and there's no reason for me to be annoyed and this isn't making any degree of sense at all which is why I want to go away and think about it so that I can actually talk about this like a normal person." 

Lex slumped on a nearby recliner, his eyes shining as he looked up at her. "I'm sorry." He said simply, desperation filtering through his pale orbs.

Chloe's eyes widened at his words. "What?" She shook her head in confusion. "I don't understand -"

"I know I'm coming on too strong." He licked his lips, his words dry. "I don't know what's happening here. One minute I'm in control of this and the next it's beyond me." 

"Lex - this doesn't - I mean, it's not your fault. It's me, I'm letting myself get in too deep and I ... everything you do matters so much to me. Do you get it? Things you do - it matters _too _much to me. Everything you do matters too much." 

"And I don't know what to do about it Chloe. I always know what to do." He continued his quiet rant, heedless of her explanation. "I can't control the way I feel about you. I want - I _need _to protect you, because I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I've already lost so much and I can't _afford _to lose you. I just can't - not if I can help it." Lex mumbled brokenly, revealing more to her in that one instant than he had ever done before. 

And what she saw almost broke her heart. 

In a piercing moment of insight, she suddenly understood just what the hell was going on. They were both unprepared over the depth of their feelings toward each other, frightening and confusing them to such a degree that all their natural instinctive defences were obscured. In essence, she and Lex were going through the same thing, their feelings for each other so strong that they were powerless to stop its encroachment of their defences. 

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered softly, kneeling down in front of him so that he was forced to meet her gaze. "Lex, you won't lose me. I'm not going anywhere."

"I couldn't help my mother Chloe." His words tumbled over each other, his usual eloquence lost in the frightening intensity of the moment. "I tried to help her as much as I could but in the end I wasn't even there by her side when she died. I couldn't do anything about her pain. And my brother - did I ever tell you I had a brother?"

She shook her head mutely, wondering whether anyone had ever seen Lex Luthor so uncontrolled, so broke, such a bundle of raw emotional energy. 

"I had a brother - Julian. He died on the day of his christening. I -"

"Shhh." Chloe shushed him with a finger on his lips, her eyes looking up into his imploringly. She didn't need to hear anything else from him, because she understood. She understood why he had insisted on protecting her, almost cozening her at times with his intense emotion and desire. "I understand. I'm not going away." 

"I'm just sorry." 

She kissed him in order to prevent him from saying anything else, with a ferocity that quite frankly would have astonished her if not for the whole being caught in the midst of her passion thing. She tasted the wet tang of salty tears as their tears mingled on their lips, and Chloe found herself trembling at the power he had unwittingly handed to her. 

For he had given her the ultimate power over him, and in that desperate moment of understanding Chloe recognised its truth. She had power over Lex just had he had power over her. 

Further philosophical reflection was cut short as the heat from inside her body overtook her thoughts, her passion almost overloading her senses. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt as she pressed upwards against him, and felt his grip snake then tighten around her waist, his movements hungry and urgent. 

Tongues duelled and teeth clashed and still she was pressing against his hard frame, wanting more of him against her. Wanting and needing to comfort and hold Lex as he no doubt wanted and needed to hold her. 

Chloe felt his cool hands slip under her top, running over her breasts before yanking it frenziedly over her shoulders. The cool brush of air against her exposed skin jolted her attention for a moment, but soon she found herself working on the buttons of his shirt, each button undone goading her passion and excitement to as yet unchartered heights. 

A part of her still couldn't quite comprehend the depth of her feelings for Lex - someone whom she had known only shallowly two years before, but now meant so much more to her than anyone else had ever meant to her in her life. 

"Chloe." He half-moaned, half-mumbled as he broke their kiss, his eyes blazing with indefinable fire. "I love you." 

"Right back at you." She replied breathlessly before plunging her mouth into his once more. She worked her hands down to the fly of his leather pants, unzipping them in one smooth motion. Together she and Lex tugged his pants off his taut body and before she knew it he had eased her skirt off her body.

Chloe let herself sink into the fiery heat, intense joy of the moment.

(c) January 2003


	45. Part Forty Five

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty-Five ~*~*

Chloe woke to a ferociously rumbling stomach. 

She rolled on her side on the soft mattress as she opened her eyes slowly in the semi-darkness of the room. 

She smiled uncontrollably at the sight that greeted her - Lex Luthor fast asleep, peacefully slumbering as he cradled the pillow under him, his breathing steady and even. Chloe's inner cynic reflected bitingly that every book and movie ever made probably had a moment just like this one - a moment of endearing vulnerability framed by excruciatingly mushy lines about the peacefulness of sleep or the child-like innocence of the said sleeper. All things that under normal circumstances would have made her want to empty the contents of her stomach with the force of a tornado ripping through Kansas or any other state in America. 

But this morning didn't feel normal and she resolutely squashed her inner cynic down. She sat up slowly, carefully lifting Lex's arm from around her waist, not wanting to disturb his precious moments of tranquil rest. 

It was morning - late morning, judging from the blazing rays of sunlight that managed to seep through the expensive venetian blinds in Lex's room. Chloe carefully slipped off the large, plush bed and glanced around, momentarily disoriented at her surroundings. 

Things had happened so fast and so frenetically last night - or this morning, she corrected wryly - that she had absolutely no memory of the chain of events that had landed her on Lex's bed. 

Normally that would have been the cause for a few moments of hyperventilation and then a trip to Metropolis General to check on the her non-existent state of mental well-being. 

There was that word again - normal. Under normal circumstances Chloe would be feeling even worse than she had been feeling last night, when she and Lex had practically goaded each other into madness and beyond. Under normal circumstances losing a few minutes of her life would have given her more than a tiny cause for concern for the state of her health, and not prompt Chloe to exhibit a grin more maniacal than the Cheshire cat's. 

But then, under normal circumstances, Chloe wouldn't have come to slow, sensuous wakefulness in Lex's bed, snugly enveloped in Lex's arms. 

Ergo, the day was just not normal. 

Chloe inhaled deeply. Life suddenly felt wonderful and colourful and exhilarating again, which - and she couldn't emphasise this enough - was a much better place than the all out confusion and tension of the night before. The exploding passion of the night she had shared with Lex had served as an outlet for all the million tiny pin pricks of frustration that neither of them had the capacity to express, due to their scared as hell attitude about their feelings for each other. 

So this was, metaphorically speaking, the calm after the storm. Not to be confused with the calm before the storm or the calm during the storm - both very bad, bad thoughts that shouldn't be entertained right now. 

Chloe wasn't Smallville enough to think that everything would be clear blue skies and starry moonlit walks again for them, but she felt that they had hurdled over their first significant relationship roadblock and had narrowly escaped from becoming relationship road kill. They would never get points for style or creativity, but at least they wereover it. 

Big yay for them, Chloe cheered silently. She was even happy enough to begin formulating a few cheers in her mind to commemorate the event - which was a scary, pom-pom squad place that frankly, Chloe never thought she would ever visit. 

She giggled silently, turning around in the next instant to ensure that she hadn't uttered any of her thoughts aloud - and thereby giving Lex a rude wake-up lesson on the wackiness of Chloe. 

Chloe shivered despite the temperate air in the room. She launched herself off the bed and grabbed a random shirt from the pile that lay on Lex's recliner. She suppressed the brief urge to inhale Lex's scent that must have clung to it; only the thought that it would officially make her an embarrassingly besotted individual with a Lex fetish made her put the shirt on and _not _linger on its curious yet familiar smell - something that was all Lex. 

His shirt fit well - roomy and comfortable enough to pad around in. Soft and silky and of course, very, very purple.

Chloe frowned momentarily at the sheer number of warm and fuzzies that she was having right now. This just wasn't right. She felt so overloaded with happiness that surely the karmic police would come back and arrest her ass sometime in the future. 

She shook that disconcerting thought away. Karmic retaliation would have to wait, because right now, her stomach was growling like a particularly rabid dog with fleas. 

Chloe padded across the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She made her way to Lex's industrial sized kitchen, zoning in on her holiest of Holy Grails - especially this early in the day - an Espresso machine, standing innocently on the granite counter top, wholly unaware of the danger it faced.

She grinned wickedly. Fresh coffee _and _waking up next to a deliciously slumbering Lex? Every girl should be so lucky.

Humming a tuneless melody, she randomly grabbed a bag of grounded coffee beans from the pantry and set to work. Her complete absorption in her thoughts and the congratulatory exaltation on having such a fantastic morning was shattered as she realised that she wasn't exactly alone.

Chloe whipped around, not having enough 007 in her to be able to completely suppress her scream of shock at finding Lionel Luthor sitting sedately in the corner of the kitchen, hands folded neatly on his cane. 

She instinctively backed away, bumping her back painfully against the corner of the bench top and knocking her mug to the tiled floor. It shattered jarringly as it connected with the ground.

"I startled you." Lionel boomed in the suddenly palpable silence. 

Chloe swallowed, her hands flying over her less than substantial attire as she cursed colourfully in her head. Why, she groaned inwardly, had it been such a good idea to grab one of Lex's shirts and not say, actual clothes like a sane person would have done? 

She could visibly see the day's stock free falling from its previously giddy height. 

She cleared her throat conspicuously, bending down somewhat daintily to pick the shards of the broken mug off the floor without revealing too much of herself. Not that it would have mattered all that much, she reasoned a few coherent seconds later. Lionel Luthor was blind, so technically she could run naked in front of him and it wouldn't really matter, except for the truckload of ick that would have to be physically shovelled out of her body if _that _ever happened. 

Chloe shuddered at the unappetising image. Were there no limits to how demented her mind could get? 

"Mr Luthor." 

"Miss Sullivan." He greeted her almost cordially as Chloe deposited the remnants of the mug into the stainless steel bin a few steps away. 

The silence dragged on, growing tense as Chloe stared at the older man, who was staring into space with an impenetrable expression on his face. 

"Your father is the manager at my Smallville plant." He grated, prompting Chloe to roll her eyes in derision despite her barely checked agitation. 

"Yes Mr Luthor." She replied politely, furiously biting on her tongue to keep the string of verbal smack downs that raced through her head. As satisfying as that would have been, it was probably entirely the wrong approach to take for someone of Lionel's temperament. Nevertheless, she couldn't resist adding. "I believe we've already canvassed that well-known fact." 

Lionel made a slight grunt in acknowledgment. "You go to the local high school. Editor of the school paper." 

Chloe restrained a start in surprise. How could he have known that? She could barely formulate a picture of Lex's dad rifling through The Torch, much less the thought of him actually having someone report to him about her activities. Which was an absurd idea of surreal proportions. 

She nodded, stopping herself mid-nod. "Ah, yeah." She frowned, looking down at her empty hands. "So?"

"So, you're an ambitious young woman." His gruff voice pierced the air. "One day you'll want to get an internship at the Daily Planet or at some other prestigious establishment. What better than to gain the trust of a Luthor now, and use it when you need it?" 

Chloe blinked in momentary confusion. Label her as overly brimming with youthful optimism, but there had never been a question in her mind that she had all the ability and determination necessary to make her own way in the world. Sure, she may not end up independently wealthy by capitalistic standards, but she would live in all the comfort that her currently independent frame of mind aspired to.

To suggest that she would take advantage of Lex's wealth, or that she was dating him because of it was to Chloe an absolutely heinous suggestion. 

Visually and physically challenged or not, there was nothing more that she wanted to do in that instant than bitch slap Lionel Luthor all the way to next week.

Amazingly, Chloe managed to rein her anger in. The bulging eyes and the livid flush that already was in evidence across her face she found that she could do nothing about. 

But what she could do was to tell this ageing jackass - Lex's billionaire father or not - where he could shove that long-haired shrivelled ass of his. 

"Mr Luthor." Chloe started, unconsciously mimicking the same contemptuous sneer that he had addressed her with. "Lex's father or not, physically incapacitated or not, let's get one thing clear." She quickly crossed over to him, placing her arms on the arm rests of his wheelchair with deceptive calm. "I'm not, and never will be, interested in Lex for his money. In fact, I don't even know what the big deal is. As far as I can tell it pretty much screws up your life when you've got that much money. Lex is occasionally obtuse, sometimes arrogantly stubborn but if I genuinely didn't like him, no amount of money would make me date him." She stepped even closer to the other man, hoping to telegraph her point across. "So I think you should take your shrivelled ass and high tail it out of here before Lex comes down. What do you say, Mr Luthor?"

Chloe had no idea where that came from, but it felt - good. Really, really good. She knew that a few moments later when she had descended from the almost euphoric high that she was experiencing right now she would come to regret the obscenely condescending tone she had used to Lionel Luthor - Lex's father - but right at this point in time she really couldn't give a damn. Here was the person that had, as far as Chloe was concerned, tormented and manipulated Lex for most of his life and it angered her almost past all reason that he was still calmly sitting there, a king in his own domain, decreeing who Lex should or shouldn't be with. 

Lionel Luthor had obviously never dealt with anyone as stubborn or angry as Chloe Sullivan was at that point. 

Far from being intimidated by her obvious anger, a ghostly smile flittered over the older man's face. "One day you'll regret those words Miss Sullivan." He stood, grasping his cane for support. "Depend on it." 

"I think you should leave." Chloe gripping the edge of the counter top tightly. "Before you come off sounding any more Machiavellian lite. Now." 

Smiling ambiguously, Lionel Luthor stood, grasping his walking cane fiercely. "We'll meet again Miss Sullivan." 

Not deigning to make a reply Chloe resolutely shut her eyes, equal parts to not subject herself to the sight of Lex's dad for another second and to allow herself to regain a measure of that composure which she knew she had somewhere hidden in the depths of her mind. She concentrated on attaining a semblance of the measured breathing which she knew all normal human beings possessed when they hadn't just had it out with one of the most powerful men in the country. 

Okay, she could do this. Breathe in, breathe out. Wax on, wax off. 

She didn't reopen her eyes until she heard the distinct slamming of the front doors. Chloe stared in silence at the scrupulously spotless counter, the casual ticking of the kitchen clock the only measure of time actually passing in that frozen instant. 

She didn't know what had just happened. She didn't know how she felt about basically cementing the less than chirpy relations between her and Lionel Luthor, who as Lex's dad was bad enough in the not getting along with your potential father-in-law stakes, but who as one of the richest men in America was sure to develop some heinously evil plan and bite her in the ass big time. 

"Chloe?" Lex asked curiously as he stood in the doorway, the last vestiges of sleep still clinging to his form and a curiously open expression on his features. He ran a hand over his head as he frowned quizzically. "What was that?" 

Chloe smiled shakily, trying to blink her way out of her confusion and anxiety. "Nothing." She lied blatantly, shaking her head slightly for emphasis. "It was nothing." 

(c) January 2003


	46. Part Forty Six

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Part Forty-Six ~*~*

Chloe leaned against the window frame as she gazed sightlessly out into the Kansas night. She blew absent minded spirals of warm air against the window, frosting the glass in front of her as she waited for Lex in the crystal silence of the fall night. 

Chloe had rugged up to ward off the onset of the wintry chill, despite the momentous occasion of the night. The occasion being, the Chloe and Lex one year of having fallen in the mud together anniversary special. 

It was definitely a plaque-commemorating, melt-worthy event. 

She sat unmoving as a truck roared past outside, idly adjusting the gauzy sleeves of her shimmering, neutral brown dress, settling the delicious material against her smooth skin. To say that time had flown by like the hint of a summer breeze would have been the understatement of the millennium and therefore, greatly redundant. In fact, time for the past few months hadn't just flown by with the force of a breeze, it had jet-propulsioned by at probably close to - if not at the absolute - speed of light. 

After the whole mutant fish hunt, Lex recovering from his injuries followed by them having emotional meltdowns all in the space of a two weeks thing, things between them had settled down remarkably well. Somehow, the force of the emotions from both her and Lex that had collided that night and produced emotional fireworks worthy of Times Square on New Year's Eve had ironically been the perfect therapeutic balm for the thousand little passionate anxieties that they had held in check for so long. That somehow, after releasing their inner most fears about their emotional dependence on each other that night, a barrier of immeasurable proportions had crumbled, leaving them weak and mewing like little baby lambs. 

Okay, that last part wasn't strictly true, and it would have been a strange visual even if it was. 

But the key point was - for there often was one, even within the convoluted ramblings of Chloe's mind - that they had attained a new level of closeness that hadn't been there before. Call it the unimaginative meandering of a slightly cliched-laden individual, but Chloe felt the truth of the knowledge resonate within her. That now, instead of being the billionaire-to-be and the ambitious reporter-to-be, they were just Lex and Chloe, dependent on each other for their small slice of happiness in this world, but comfortably so. 

Chloe smiled as she tilted her face up to the moon. It was a calm and gentle night, the air full of the earthy deliciousness only evident in the wide open spaces that a small town like Smallville possessed. Far from being over-excited or anxious about the coming night, Chloe just let herself drift along the eddy of the blissful tranquillity of her heart. 

***

Lex's eyes shone brilliantly, the candle light imbuing his pale blue orbs with more than a hint of warmth. "You look gorgeous." He remarked, the edges of his mouth curling into a deliciously devilish smile. 

Chloe blushed before glancing down at her nervously twittering fingers. Even after an entire year spent being the lucky recipient of Lex's amazing variety of smouldering gazes and heartfelt looks, it always made her blush and wonder fleetingly why in all seven circles of hell Lex actually liked her. There was always that fleeting moment of 'would she actually wake from her dream this time', before the thought was resolutely pushed away by her tenacious consciousness that repeatedly told her that all this wasn't a dream. Because time still ticked along at its sometimes stately, sometimes frenetic pace, and she was still quite capable of feeling hurt and pain just like normal people in normal life. 

It wasn't a dream - it was just a beautiful, pulsating reality. 

She exhaled slowly, chuckling softly like a particularly deranged idiot. "Thanks. It's like, only the 267th time you've said that tonight, for which my under-primed ego is eternally grateful for. Not that there's actually a limit on the number of times you should say that to me. I'm personally hoping you'll break the magical thousand barrier mark before the night is out. They say it's never been done by a human being without the aid of an electronic device before." 

Lex laughed quietly, reaching over the table to grasp her hand, his eyes twinkling merrily in the candlelight. "I think I can get a little more creative than that." He paused to allow the maitre'd to refill their drinks before continuing. "So, today - or tonight really - is a special occasion." He began.

"The spectacular occasion of me dressed in the most revolting clothes I own, foraging in the mud for non-existent meteor evidence and instigating the first mud bath you've ever had?"

"For easy reference, we'll just stick to one year anniversary." 

"Of the Chloe and Lex travelling freak show." Chloe grinned, her teeth white and glistening against the darkness. "Okay. Continue." 

"Anyway." He mocked glared at her as he leisurely sipped his red wine. "To commemorate the occasion - there's a poem by Donne that I've always loved but I've never really thought it could apply to anything in my life. Until now."

"I don't see where all the difficulty is in quoting metaphysical poetry around a fertiliser plant." She quipped. "Because it's just so entirely obvious that people around a plant should always speak in rhyming couplets." 

"Donne didn't write in rhyming couplets, and you're sucking air out of my romantic sails. Can I finish please?" 

Chloe straightened, wiping all traces of humour from her face. She waited patiently, her hands tightly gripping the edge of her chair in order to keep the fit of giggles that threatened to bubble up from within her and spill inappropriately over what should have been a very romantic moment. When had she gotten this irreverent about romance with Lex?

Since she had gotten so completely comfortable and unwary around Lex, her mind answered. 

"Well?" She asked impatiently at the blank look on his face. "Don't tell me you've forgotten it?" 

"Of course I haven't forgotten it." He snipped back. "Chloe, I'm sad to say that this is a serious romantic moment and you - gorgeous and creatively amusing as you are - are completely ruining it. When I said I wanted you to let me finish, I didn't mean for you to look so constipated."

Chloe gave a shriek of laughter before clapping a sheepish hand to her mouth, her eyes running over the other startled faces in the restaurant. It was inordinately funny - the idea of the heir to the Luthor billion-dollar fortune trying to be serious about his momentous milestone with his insanely inattentive girlfriend - plus the added bonus of having the word 'constipated' spill out from Lex's cultured mouth. 

"I'm sorry." She impulsively launched herself out of her chair and gave him a quick kiss. "I'm just - I think my feelings are running rough shod around my body at the moment. It's kind of prompting me to do wacky things. I mean, more wackier than usual things." 

"Like laugh at inappropriate moments in key romantic interludes." 

"Well - yeah." She simpered. "But you still love me, right?" 

He let the sparkle in his eyes do the talking. 

"Okay, back to the point." He emphasised, trying to sound painfully annoyed but failing dismally. "There's a line in one of Donne's poems that perfectly expresses what I feel at this moment." He paused expectantly. 

"And how does it go? Or is this one of those kinky games where I'm supposed to drag it out of you? Should I get a whip, and chains?" Her eyes flickered as Chloe fleetingly wondered how big the odds were that she wouldn't be able to understand the much touted poem. It was an awful thought, but Chloe wondered whether she would have to dig up some Cliff Notes lying around her room on the metaphysical poetry that they had to tackle last semester. She tacked a mental note inside her head and highlighted it in bright fluoro marker to try to find her notes when she got back home. 

Chloe blinked, waiting patiently as she watched Lex stare into space. "Uh, colour me impatient but - did I just miss the metaphysical poetry express?" 

Lex shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Why do you do that?" 

The grin that was already well on its way to gracing Chloe's features abruptly faltered. "Do what?" 

The sparkle in his eyes dimmed slightly, the pale hue of his orbs darkening. "You retreat when things get too real. When things get emotional. You - for lack of a better expression - flip out." 

"I don't flip out." Chloe retorted with unexpected emotion. "There has never been and will never be any flipping out from me - ever. I don't flip. Flipping is so not my style and besides, who's the kettle calling the pot black? You're not exactly Mr 'I'm fully in touch with my feelings' guy." With shaking hands she took a sip of coke, taking care to place it carefully out of throw's reach. "I mean, I admit I may ridicule your tendency to quote poetry at key romantic moments but that hardly constitutes flipping out. In fact, I don't think that's flipping out at all. It's more a gentle swaying and - why are you giving me that look?" She asked, annoyingly flustered for no good reason. 

"What look?" Lex asked innocently, the tell tale twinkling in his eyes alerting Chloe to the possibility that Lex didn't feel as seriously about the issue as she had initially thought. 

"That look that you do when you don't believe a word I'm saying. You know -" Chloe waived her hands about wildly, "you lean back in your seat and clasp your hands together and just have this total _look _and -" She forced herself to breathe deeply, the thought of hyperventilating in this exclusive Metropolis restaurant as unpleasant as over-grilled cheese on toast. "I'm flipping out big time, aren't I?" 

Lex smiled a little whimsically. "Believe it or not, I think flipping out is good sometimes. It's ... probably a much more comfortable way to live in the long run." 

"Than?" Lex looked at her in confusion, forcing her to elaborate. "Flipping out is good because it's probably a much more comfortable way to live in the long run _than_?"

"Than ..." Lex frowned as he carefully sipped his wine again. "Than keeping things in. Keeping emotions hidden, hidden so well within your psyche that even you begin to doubt the veracity of its truth. Until you begin to doubt that you ever had emotions ... doubt that you're even capable of having emotions." 

Chloe looked down at her hands which were absently tugging the edge of the tablecloth, trying to gather the tenuous thoughts flashing through her mind as she groped for the right words. "Lex, I know you're safety guy when it comes to showing the strange deranged phenomenon called 'feelings', but you know you don't have to be that way with me, right?" He acquiesced, giving her a wry smile. "In fact, I'd go out on a very oversized limb and say that once someone gets to know you, you're not that way at all. I mean sure you may be slightly scary with the limitless reservoir of money and resources you have at your disposal, but it's pretty obvious that you're a normal human being underneath all that ... power." She let a sweet smile creep onto her face for a millisecond, before it transformed into one of mischievousness. "An unbelievably nice human being, although don't worry - I won't tell the simple town folk of this sad little fact. It may cause one too many coronaries and basically herald the end of the world." 

Lex reached over the table and grasped her hand, his skin suddenly too warm against hers. "How can you be 17 and still understand things so clearly?" 

"Maybe it's _because _I'm 17 that I can still see you clearly." Chloe rejoined, her heart suddenly hammering against her ribcage as she absorbed the intensity blazing from Lex's eyes. She didn't know how the conversation had suddenly made such a serious turn, but for a second she felt jolted with the sheer force of his emotion - his very real, mostly hidden feelings for her that he had suddenly allowed to come blazing forth. It made her hands shake even more, as if she had just been the recipient of a particularly intense lightning strike of the Lex variety. 

She blinked, trying to clear the sudden haze clouding her thoughts, clearing her throat conspicuously. "Hey I wonder where my strawberry dessert thing went? Seriously, do they really have to handpick those strawberries right now or what?" She asked lightly as she playfully grinned, her fingers feather light as she brushed against his.

"I mean it Chloe. You're -" A waiter sauntered by, asking them whether they needed anything. Lex hurriedly waved him away as he smiled tightly at the interruption. "You're incredible and amazing and I don't think there's anything I can really say to make you understand how you make me feel. How ... how wanted and loved and _needed_." He reached inside his expensively tailored jacket, bringing out a beautifully wrapped package that Chloe thought defied all earthly description - and probably all heavenly description too. "I know the last thing you like about me is my money, so this - I didn't buy this." He slid the package slowly across the table, the pale intensity of his gaze never leaving her face. "It belonged to my mother. You're the first person that I could imagine giving this to and I want you to have this - to have something beautiful. To give you a glimpse of how I really feel about you ... as someone indescribably precious to me."

Chloe stared, ungracefully bug-eyed at the elegant package that he placed in front of her, her mind churning at well over a hundred miles per hour at his heart rendingly honest words. For anyone - stranger, friend or otherwise - to say all those things to her would have made her blush like a lobster with pleasure. But for Lex - those words coming from Lex, a man whose hard glances and unsmiling demeanour spoke of countless moments of pain and disappointment in his life - for him to have reached out, saying those words to her and offering a piece of his love of his mother to her - to Chloe that was the purest gift that he could have ever given her tonight. 

She became conscious that staring unblinkingly at the unopened package in suspended shock was probably not the best way to show heart felt appreciation at Lex's words to her. Long and slim, even the dim-witted, extremely clueless part of her could not have mistaken the care that had gone into its wrapping. 

She bit her lip as she slowly untied the ribbon, unwrapping the delicate emerald green gauze as if it was ancient treasure, unearthed from some ancient tomb for the very first time. Her heart was beating erratically for no sane person reason, causing her to berate herself for her extremely sentimental, un-Chloe like behaviour. 

Her eyes flickered quickly to Lex's, who seemed entranced with the laboured work she was making with unveiling his gift. It seemed a little eerie - but in the good sense - that he was giving something that belonged to his mother to her. 

Get a grip Chloe, she reminded herself. This was an extremely good, thoughtful, kind, unbelievably generous and what every sane girl on the planet would want kind of gift - and she was turning it into some huge, extremely boring and unwieldy production. 

"I promise it's not going to bite." Lex joked, his eyes carefully surveying her less than ecstatic reaction. 

"It's not that, I -" Chloe laid the box back down onto the table, accidentally running it against her glass, which produced a gentle clink as it collided against the delicate crystal. She winced. "The absolute undeniable truth about Chloe Sullivan is that I do tend to flip out when things get too close. When I'm ... feeling too much." She took a few deep breaths as her hand grasped the box again, nervously flipping it over in her hands. "It scares me - the way that you like me and show it and trust that I won't do anything typically stupid and I don't know how I'm anyone you can get excited about but you do and I really ... I really love you for it and I'm just scared that one day you'll come to your senses and _see _me for what I really am and then go away, because that's what people do - they go away like my Mom ..." She hastily wiped the stream of tears that were now trickling down her face, tears that were falling despite her innate stubbornness to not let anyone see. "She went away and I'm not cut out to have people go away. So in summary - I do tend to flip out." 

Chloe bent down to retrieve her bag and hastily grabbed a Kleenex, dabbing at her eyes and hoping she didn't look like a deranged panda in the middle of one of the most exclusive restaurants in Metropolis. Lex looked on in compassionate silence, allowing her to gather her out of control emotions. 

"Sorry for the meltdown." She said at last, grinning at her - for lack of a better phrase - psychotic breakdown. "You know me, I tend to - flip out. Way to spoil the night." She smiled wanly. 

"I _do _know you." Lex replied gently, reaching over to trace the edge of her cheek. "And you know me." She laughed at his seemingly innocuous statement. "You haven't spoilt the night, you've enhanced it by being here." 

He leaned forward and gave her a searingly warm kiss that took her breath away that she realised - a few milliseconds late - that drew the gaze of the entire restaurant to their table. But by then she was already a few million miles from caring. 

Lex's lips against hers made her want to dissolve into a mass of warm and fuzzy jello goo. In the midst of the intensity of the emotions careening through her mind and body, she happily realised that all this emotion - those feelings that she and Lex had just shared - was a symbol of how much they truly trusted one another now. They were comfortable around each other and comfortable with sharing intensely felt emotions. Which was, Chloe guessed, truly symbolic of just what tonight meant for them rather than a date on the calendar. 

At long last they broke apart, with Chloe grinning like a recently certified lunatic. "Ah - wow." She breathed, blushing several shades of red as she eyed the other patrons in the restaurant. "Again - wow. I feel like I should do a PSA. You know, something like 'kiss Lex Luthor - it's good for your health. You'd be swamped in no time." 

"I wouldn't object to such blatant publicity." Lex stroked her upper arm softly. "I'll put you in touch with my PR firm." 

"You do that." Chloe said softly, for once not giving a second thought at the power he had over her. Because she knew that the same applied for him - she had that unspoken but almost tangible power over him. The power to invoke or provoke emotions and feelings that went way beyond the normal course of daily life. 

Their gazes remained locked for what seemed like an eternity, but what was in reality probably no more than a few Earth seconds. She chuckled appreciatively at the delighted sparkle in his eyes, giving her inner thanks again to whichever higher power was listening that she was allowed the extremely rare sight of seeing Lex's emotions as it happened. Which sounded like a particularly deranged reality TV show - 'Lex Luthor's Emotions - As It Happens, tonight on the WB'. 

Chloe breathed deeply, willing herself to reign her emotions in to a more sedate and comfortable level. She was in a public arena with Lex - and she had to face it - in a city that was renowned for its voracious thirst for knowledge for all things Luthor. It was probably a good idea to tone down the free for all right now. 

"So." She turned the still unwrapped package over in her hands, saying apologetically. "I didn't get you anything." 

Lex casually brushed her apology off. "Open it." 

Chloe untied the ribbon, flinging it impatiently aside before she quickly took off the gauze material to reveal a long, slim blue velvet box. She ran her hands over the soft velvety material, glancing once more at Lex's slightly rapped expression before continuing. 

With hands trembling with emotion, she opened the box to reveal a gorgeously wrought necklace that glittered against the dark blue velvet that surrounded it, delicately inlaid with diamonds in a design so intricate that prompted Chloe to briefly wonder whether it would actually stay together when worn around an actual person's neck. 

She smiled in wonder as she gently lifted the necklace from the box, her eyes saucer wide with disbelief. It was far too elaborate and beautiful for everyday high school wear, but even Chloe's less than elegant fashion sense had to admit that it was sumptuous and stunning and absolutely defied all earthly description, so Chloe refrained from further attempts to actually describe it to herself. To Chloe it looked like a remnant of some far flung, long lost civilisation, where people weren't people but ethereal beings full of beauty and light, who could perform miracles and an assortment of all other wonderful things that higher beings were supposed to be able to do, like walk on water dressed in flowing, gorgeous white robes. 

"Lex." She breathed, the cynicism that usually coated her voice for once leaving no trace. "It would probably be redundant to say it's beautiful but," she gulped, taking her eyes off the necklace to gaze into Lex's dancing blue eyes, "it's beautiful. And gorgeous, spectacular, description defying and probably a lot of other words I can't think up right now. Although," she joked, her eyes annoyingly misty. "I'm not sure what Dad's going to do with it. Probably drive it straight to Smallville Savings and Loan and stick it in a strongbox, thereby making sure I won't see it until I'm 21." 

"Don't stick it in Smallville Savings and Loan." He replied, a wry smile gracing his features. "Dad owns it, and I'm not sure how I'd feel knowing he has possession of something like this. But do you like it?" He asked abruptly.

"Do you even have to ask, being an annoyingly knowledgeable Luthor and all?" 

"No." He slid his hand over hers, caressing the palm of her hand. "But I'd still like to hear you say it." 

Chloe gaze dropped, flickering over the necklace before she sought his eyes again. "I love it. And in the interests of making this a special occasion - I love you. I really, really do." She cleared her throat as she felt the beginnings of a spectacular blush paint her cheeks. "But don't expect such a blatant ego boost every day. I'm so not the right person to give it." 

"You're exactly the right person Chloe." Lex replied, his pale grey blue eyes flashing with so much feeling that almost knocked Chloe off her chair. 

The words and the emotion that they had surrounded themselves with tonight evoked such an ethereal feel about them that Chloe felt herself momentarily transported to the fairy incandescence of some magical place that contained purely them. And as her hazy, happiness seduced mind reflected, life probably couldn't get any better than this. 

(c) January 2003


	47. Epilogue

****

Everything In This World

By Viv

*~*~ Epilogue ~*~*

Chloe squinted as she looked up towards the sun, noting the heat waves that sailed through the air against the cerulean blue sky. 

It was a typically dry and scorchingly hot Kansas day and - she couldn't emphasise this enough - she felt hot. Not dramatically sexy hot, not there's a portent of doom kind of hot - just plain, old, and possibly stinky, things sticking to her skin like velcro kind of hot. 

She was at one of the many county fairs that Smallville periodically stages, at the behest of Clark, Lana and Pete, who had wanted Chloe to come and help the Kents out with their stand of freshly grown produce and other farm-y type stuff. Which was all very nice and grand of Lana, the girl next door with a heart of some precious metal that was even better than gold, and Pete, who was so bored that he really needed something better to do than help his best friend set up his produce stand, but why had Chloe allowed herself to have been dragged into this? 

"Chlo, you look fried." 

Chloe whipped around, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she confronted her friend. "Pete - shut up." 

A feigned look of hurt came over Pete's face as she put his hands up in defence. "Hey, I'm just saying. I know you don't tan well and then your face gets all blotchy before it starts peeling and -." 

Chloe restrained herself from dumping the remaining contents of the crate in her hands over Pete's still talking head. "Whose idea was it to drag me out here anyway? If I die from heat stroke, you're paying the funeral bill - which won't be cheap either." 

Mrs Kent hurried over. "Chloe sweetie, why don't you go and take a break? You look ... hot." Chloe looked up at Mrs Kent's kindly face, vainly trying to curtail the what must have been waterfall of sweat off her face. She glanced quickly at Lana, who was busy stacking extra crates on the other side of the stand and looking like she had swallowed an entire gallon of anti-freeze. 

Her eyes narrowed with barely concealed annoyance. Why did Lana have to go around looking so damn cool and ice princess-y and - more importantly - dry, when Chloe felt like a particularly ugly overheated radiator? 

Now Chloe, she chided herself bemusedly. No need to get nasty. 

"Ah thanks Mrs Kent - I think I will. I feel like a lobster - or something equally as red and boiled. The key reaction being 'ew'." 

The older woman laughed as she handed Chloe a bottle of water. "Thanks for helping us out sweetie. I think Jonathan and the boys can finish up." 

Chloe flashed Mrs Kent a bright smile as she stacked the last crate against the back of the stand. Wiping yet more dripping rivulets of sweat from her features, she began sauntering away from the Kent stand, eyeing the scene with her hopefully improving roving reporter's curiosity. 

It was mid-morning, yet already the field was teeming with activity and noise. Brightly coloured stands for the sale of everything from produce to farm equipment littered the vista as far as Chloe's eye could see. Kids who had nothing better to do ran between stands, shouting for no other sane person reason than to inject some hilarity and noise into the scene. 

Chloe admired their boundless energy as she found a shaded spot, opening the bottle of water in her hands and drinking its contents greedily. 

"Having fun?" She broke into a smile at Lex's mischievous voice behind her, feeling happy yet excruciatingly hot and uncomfortable at the same time. She felt his hands skip tantalisingly over her skin, drawing heated circles on her arms before he wrapped them around her waist, drawing her even closer to him. 

"Some." Chloe grinned as she felt the pressure of Lex lightly resting against her cheek, his head dripping into the crook of her neck and prompting a wave of excitement to course through her body. It had been more than a year since she had first felt these strange warm and fuzzy feelings towards the man standing beside her, yet in some ways their relationship still felt new. Except of course for the dramatic, getting to know each other and fighting their way through misunderstandings part. 

She chafed in the bright sunshine as they took a moment to absorb the leisurely atmosphere of the fair. A boy ran past them and threw a water bomb that landed at their feet before dashing away, while a farmer impatiently honked his truck to gain clearance onto the busy field. 

"Okay, now I'm bored." She heard him chuckle as he unwrapped his arms around her, spinning around to meet his amused gaze. "Where have you been?" 

"Mrs Kent said she forgot to bring the food she'd prepared for today, so I volunteered my responsible services to bring them here." He held up two picnic baskets ladened with food, one in each hand, his expression almost daring her to challenge the veracity of his task. 

"You only did it to escape the hard labour that the rest of us have been put to. You should be ashamed of yourself. I thought Luthors never shirked from hard work." 

Lex carefully placed the hampers onto the soft, even ground before wrapping an arm around her and drawing her in for a slow, warmth-filled kiss. "Luthors never shirk from hard work, but we're smart enough to go around it sometimes." 

"You always have an answer for everything, don't you?" Chloe asked, looking up at him. 

His eyes sparkled in the bright sunlight. "You always ask the right questions Chloe." 

She blushed under the heat of his gaze - something she hadn't quite gotten a handle on yet. Which was okay by her, since she generally acknowledged herself to be one of the luckiest girls on earth with Lex by her side. Whoever said that nice girls finish last obviously had never heard of Chloe. "We make a good team then." 

His pale blue eyes gazed piercingly into hers. "I think so." He bent down to retrieve the picnic baskets from the ground but put them back down hesitantly. Lex looked at her with barely fettered emotion, his intensity scorching in the already hot Kansas sun. "In case I don't say this enough - you're everything in the world to me Chloe. You know that, don't you?" 

Chloe's heart shook with emotion as she beheld his earnest face, haloed by the brilliant rays of the sun behind him. "Yeah." She replied quietly, leaning forward to give him a sweet kiss that somehow sealed their fate. "I know Lex. I know." 

[THE END]

(c) January 2003

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Wow, bet you can't believe that this story has finally finished! I posted the last parts in one go, because I believe that they should be read together or at least, people should have the option to read it as one chunk. 

I hoped you enjoyed it - you may have noticed while reading this long, long saga, that there were a lot of things in there that maybe don't quite belong in the story. This is because this story is supposed to be (and will eventually be) the first of a two or three part story, so yes, there will be a sequel coming - eventually. ;-)

And finally, thanks to everyone who gave me feedback while writing this story - you guys are unbelievably kind and helped me write this monstrosity. Without that encouragement I probably would have chucked in the towel long ago. So I want to thank the following people who have kindly left me reviews, especially those who have encouraged me every step of the way here:

__

Alcamenes, Alex, Alien Outcast, Allison, Alyssa, AMused, Amanda, Amber, Ana, Angelblue, Anna, Bansh, _Beautiful 'N Bruised, Becky, Bella, Bette, Carly, Clexian Kismet,_ _ClowReed, Corinne - Chlex - Bremma, crashnburn-021, CrazEEA$$A@@1N,_ _Dani, Dark Phoenix II, Dawg, Daydreamer, Dontia, Elizabeth, Emilia, Emilie_, _Emily Dark, E.N. Sodapop, Hannah, haydenschk, Hidden Willow, Gemini, Griffin, inanna1130, J, Jade, jaded316, jayseeca, JiggaDatPlAYa,_ _Jolene, JVicious, Kai, Karin, Kasia, Kerry, Khassa_, _Kira, Kit-cat-bar, Kristin, Lady Adyra, lanabana, lanalover,_ _Leandra, Len, lil, Lrnd, Lucy Mars, Mabon, Markers, Marv_, _Me, Meredith Welling, Merrie, Michelle, Mistyblue, Morgannia, Nana, NaturallySpazic, NeeterDilly, Onionroach, Orphelia-Rose, Paradox, Pagan, Phebe, pixiecola, Princess Veronica, qthewildchild, Queen of Tact, Rainyday88, raniatlw, Rebecca Ann, redwitch, Renee, Rinoa Leonhart, roswellgal,_ _ryonan girl, Sea'Wana, Serendipity, Shar, shawna, Shimemore, small fries, smallgirl75, SmallvilleChick, smallvillefan, spitfireness, steeleye2000, Stem, Steph, Tempest, TripleC, TVJunky_00, Ultrawoman, Vin Diesel Fan, weezerchick, Wendy after dark, Whee, Wicked One, Your Worshipfulness_


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